


Attempt 1000

by WittyReviewer



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Gran is a Lucario, Gran is a Pokemon, He'll get Toshi eventually though, He's All Might's Lucario, He's a Zorua so he can transform, He's still All Might, Inko has a Gardevoir, Izuku doesn't have a Pokemon, Izuku's the Chosen One, Kids get Pokemon instead, Nighteye Is also a Pokemon, Poke!Might, Since you know... quirks don't exist, Stuff that happens in the Pokemon Anime is history, Takes place in BNHA, Toshi is a bit of a troll, Toshi's a Pokemon, Yes I'm turning random people into pokemon, Zorua!All Might, quirks don't exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-05-17 05:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14826501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WittyReviewer/pseuds/WittyReviewer
Summary: There must be something wrong with him. What other reason would there be for Izuku not having a Pokemon at the age of fourteen?Without one, it's the beginning of the end for him. No school or employer will want him.But then he meets a Zorua with blue on black eyes that has the tendency of transforming into legendaries.





	1. Chapter 1

“The battle was amazing!” Izuku beamed, radiating joy as he spoke to his mother’s Pokemon that came to pick him up. “Kaa-Chan’s Quilava really is the strongest Pokemon in our entire grade.”

 

“Gardevoir?” 

 

“Quilava fought against a Squirtle and still won. Although I guess, that’s to be expected since it’s the second evolution of Cyndaquil, and the Squirtle wasn’t evolved yet. But it was still a good fight! Quilava beat not only our whole grade but the entire eighth-grade class as well!” 

 

Izuku grinned at Gardevoir, doing his best to recount the battle when the topic of conversation himself, rounded the corner. 

 

“Heh, well if it isn’t stinky Deku.” 

 

“Kaa-Chan!” 

 

“Still getting picked up by your mommy’s Pokemon?” Kaa-chan crowed. “Worthless,” he kicked dirt at Izuku and his Quilava mimicked it’s trainer’s spiteful attitude, flaring it’s back with fire and singeing Izuku’s pants. 

 

“I - but-“ 

 

“Ch, don’t talk to me until you get a Pokemon. Oh wait, that’s right. You can’t! Pokemon hate you!” 

 

Izuku’s smile dropped as he watched his childhood friend leave school grounds. “That's not… that’s not it,” Izuku mumbled, glancing at the Pokemon at his side. Gardevoir didn’t hate him. Right?

 

Izuku sighed, reaching out to grab Gardevoir’s hand. “Lets go-“ he blinked, pausing. “Let’s visit Professor Woods,” he finished with a hopeful smile as he felt Gardevoir using Teleport on them and a sort of weightlessness lift him. 

 

Not a second later, they were in front of Professor Wood’s lab. 

 

Izuku bit his lip. _One more time_ , he promised himself as he edged away from Gardevoir. She always did her own thing when they came here, and Izuku didn’t want her to see him fail yet again.

 

Stopping before the door, Izuku raised a fist and took a breath. He could do this. It’s not like he hadn’t come here before. He just had to get a Pokemon. Yeah, ten years late was better than never getting one. Izuku took another breath and kn-

 

The door opened. 

 

“Midoriya?” Professor Woods raised a brow below the wooden helmet he favored. “Is there something you needed?” 

 

“P-Pokemon,” Izuku stuttered. “I’m here for a Pokemon.” 

 

The Professor didn’t seem shocked, more resigned than anything as he nodded and retreated into the lab with Izuku at his heels. Izuku wanted to be mad at the dismissive way Professor Woods treated him. He wanted to take a page out of Kaa-Chan’s book and brashly ask if the man didn’t believe he could get a Pokemon. But after ten years, Izuku himself didn’t believe he could get a Pokemon. 

 

Oh, he wanted one. Izuku wanted a Pokemon so bad. It was the only thing he wanted, but each time he so much as hinted at wanting a partner Pokemon, things would happen, and he’d go home without one. 

 

“I recently got some Rattata from a rescue,” Professor Woods said. “Maybe one of them…” he sounded unsure, and even Izuku had to suppress a wince. His last Rattata attempt ended up with the Rattata in question - an originally healthy Pokemon - getting a heart attack the moment Izuku asked if it wanted to become his partner. 

 

That had been a couple years ago, but even before that Izuku learned not to get his hopes up after Eevee number fifteen. 

 

“Here we are.” Professor Woods gestured to a familiar open glass room where Izuku could see several Rattata scampering about. “Take your time, I’ll be in the hatchery.” 

 

“Thank you,” Izuku said. 

 

“Good luck kid.” 

 

When the Professor left, Izuku took a breath before entering the room. 

 

As usual, the Pokemon ran up to him with happy cheers of, “Rat, Rattata!” Some even clawed at his clothes and climbed up his body before Izuku decided it’d probably be best to sit. 

 

“Hello,” he chuckled, cradling a trio of purple Pokemon who decided to snuggle into his chest. Despite the disappointment that itched at the back of his mind - and he didn’t even pop his question yet! - there was something about being with Pokemon that always brightened his day. 

 

Izuku giggled when one of the three Rattata snuffled at the hem of his shirt and stuck it’s head under the cloth, tickling Izuku’s stomach. Izuku smiled at the three - they were actually kind of cute with their puffed cheeks. 

 

Deciding that it was now or never, Izuku spoke to them like he always did when meeting his partner hopefuls. His smile turned fake and his voice sounded hopeful if a little dead. 

 

 “One day, I want to be a hero. Like All Might. It’s been my dream since I was four, but to do that I’d need a Pokemon…” 

 

He let his sentence hang, and watched as three pairs of eyes widened, and felt as they stiffened in his harms. Izuku’s heart broke just a little. He was well acquainted with this scenario. Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat, pushing through. 

 

“Would any of you like to be my partner?” 

 

They scattered. 

 

Izuku sighed, dropping his empty arms and slamming his head into the wall at his back. Why? Tears freely fell from his eyes.

 

Was Kaa-chan right? Did Izuku really smell like some sort of Pokemon repellent? Was the idea of being his Pokemon so horrid? Izuku’s hands curled into fists, nails digging into his palm. It wasn’t fair. 

 

Maybe he really should jump off a building. Maybe then he’d be reborn as someone who could befriend Pokemon. 

 

Izuku wiped his eyes and made to stand, only to fall when he stepped on something. Blearily, he looked down. 

 

“A Pokeball?” 

 

He picked it up. Red top. White bottom. Button in the middle. Yep, a Pokeball. 

 

What was it doing here? Izuku glanced out the glass wall to see if the Professor had returned but no one was there. Half curious, Izuku pressed the release button and was disappointed when nothing came out. 

 

“Of course fate wouldn’t just give me a Pokemon. Idiot,” Izuku mumbled to himself. 

 

Before he leaves, he pockets the ball.

 

* * *

 

“Any luck?” 

 

“No.” 

 

The professor sighed. “What attempt was that?” 

 

“Nine hundred ninety-eight,” Izuku sighed. 

 

“Well, let's make your next an egg.” 

 

Izuku looked up so fast his neck cracked. “What? Really?” 

 

“I just got a Skiddo egg. A trainer came in with it and asked that it be given to a good home,” Professor Woods said. 

 

“The grass-goat Pokemon?” Izuku asked. 

 

“Mhmm. Let me get you an incubator so you can take it home with you. I’m guessing I don’t need to tell you how to care for an egg?” 

 

Izuku shook his head, stars in his eyes. Finally a Pokemon. “I learned about egg care last year.” 

 

* * *

 

Izuku hugged the incubator to his chest, ready to leave with Gardevoir at his side and the egg in his arms. He did it! He had a Pokemon! Why hadn’t he asked for an egg to begin with? An egg couldn’t say no to returning home with him. 

 

“Thank you so much,” Izuku said, trying to show Professor Woods just how grateful he was with those simple words. 

 

“No prob-“ 

 

A blur rammed into Izuku’s side. His grip on the incubator slipped. He gasped, panic and pain flooding him as he fumbled for the incubator, his fingers slipping-

 

“Gooo!” 

 

The blur -a Gogoat- stared him in the eyes, incubator safely nestled in its antlers. 

 

Izuku blinked, feeling distinctly like an unruly child being reprimanded by his mother at the harsh look the Pokemon gives him. 

 

“Is that egg yours?” Izuku asked, feeling another opportunity slip by him. 

 

The Gogoat nodded. 

 

Can’t even raise an egg without a mother Pokemon taking it away. Izuku bit his tongue.

 

“Oh…” he said dumbly. “I-I promise to take care of it….” 

 

But the Pokemon was already walking away, incubator still sitting between its horns as it met its trainer. The young woman rubbed the Pokemon’s head with a puzzled look before glancing over at Professor Woods and Izuku. 

 

“Sorry,” she probably mouthed before she too walked away. Taking attempt nine hundred and ninety-nine with her. 

 

* * *

 

 

Summer vacation starts. For Izuku it’s not a vacation, but another step toward the inevitable. He has one more year of middle school and then he’d be a waste of space with no future, no job, no Pokemon. 

 

Izuku has one more year to look forward to before he truly becomes worthless. 

 

Pokemon play such a huge part in society that not having one made Izuku the social outcast. Not having a Pokemon meant that there was something inherently wrong with Izuku. It was like a disease. Only the sickly or the truly evil had problems getting Pokemon. And even then, that’d only limit the type of Pokemon they got, but Izuku? He tried everything from a cute innocent Eevee to a Gengar.

 

Without a Pokemon Izuku could kiss UA goodbye. UA aside he’d never get into any high school without a Pokemon. They’ll take one look at his file, mark him as a problem child, and never give him a second glance. The same could be said for jobs. 

 

Izuku didn’t have to go to high school. It was optional after all. But again, he didn’t have a Pokemon, so why would any potential employers want to hire him when there were other candidates with Pokemon that would assist them with the job? 

 

In a world where having Pokemon was the norm, and not having Pokemon wasn’t, Izuku was looking at a rather bleak future. 

 

He couldn’t become a hero without a Pokemon. Who’d do the fighting then?

 

He couldn’t become a detective. His nose wasn’t good enough to sniff anyone out. 

 

Becoming judge or lawyer was out of the question too. He’d need a psychic Pokemon for that. 

 

Doctor? Nurse? Nope, he’d need a Pokemon that knew how to heal. 

 

Engineer? Well, maybe except no one would want to hire him since steel and electric type Pokemon could get an intimate understanding of whatever gadget they touched. 

 

Grimer and Trubish existed for a reason, so becoming a janitor or one of those men who picked up trash, was also out of the question.

 

In a world where one needed a Pokemon to get a job, Izuku was useless. He couldn’t even be a part of a productive society. 

 

His dream of becoming a hero like All Might was just that, a dream. 

 

* * *

 

 

Summer is coming to an end and all Izuku can feel is dread. 

 

It’s the night of July 15th when Izuku decides that enough is enough. It’s his birthday today. He’s officially thirteen. There’s nothing special about it. Nothing like the Big Four when kids usually receive their first Pokemon or like age ten when kids with strong enough Pokemon are allowed to start their journeys if school isn’t for them. 

 

For Izuku, his thirteenth birthday is like any other day except there’s cake and another broken promise of, _‘by this time next year.’_

 

Izuku’s tired of it, so when he heads to his room and hears his mom crying through thin walls, Izuku promises himself it will be for the last time. 

 

Rolling the empty Pokeball from the Rattata playpen in his hands, Izuku shrinks and enlarges it like a makeshift stress ball. 

 

 _I don’t need a Pokemon to go on a journey,_ he decides and packs. 

 

* * *

 

 

Izuku packs a set of clothes for every day of the week and does not forget his underwear like the trainer of legend did. His clothes are all themed after All Might. Even his sleeping bag is fashioned after All Might’s shiny Lucario and Izuku straps that to the bottom of his bag. 

 

He throws in toiletries as a second thought and even though he plans on staying in the wilds, he stuffs his wallet in his pocket too. His phone stays on his desk though. He has no way of charging it and doesn't want anyone tracking him. 

 

The last thing he slips into his bag is his Hero-Dex. Since he never got a Pokemon, he never received a Pokedex - Izuku supposes that it’s another reason he’d never be excepted into high school or get hired - he has no form of ID. But he has his Hero-Dex, something he made out of old phone parts to resemble a Pokedex. It can't scan Pokemon, nor act as an ID, and it’s closer to an electronic notebook than anything else, but it has Izuku’s notes of Pokemon he’s seen through the years and notes on Heroes and their Pokemon, and that’s good enough for him. 

 

It helps that it runs off of solar panels, so Izuku slides it into his bag. 

 

* * *

 

 

Izuku leaves at midnight. He doesn’t tell his mom, but he writes a note. 

 

* * *

 

 

One month? Two months? Three months? Four?

 

Izuku isn’t sure how long it’s been since he’s been home. Honestly, he’s surprised he’s still alive. 

 

The wild Pokemon are surprisingly nice. A pair of fire canines - one Growlithe, one Arcanine - allowed him to claim residence in a corner of their den and a Toucannon seemed to have taken him under its wings. It’s a mother hen if Izuku ever saw one, providing him with heaps of fruit; half of which Izuku shares with any Pokemon that comes near. 

 

It’s shocking how accepting these wild Pokemon are. Izuku’s heard stories and read history books of famous trainers who were chased off of Pokemon territory. 

 

And Izuku is _deep_ in Pokemon territory. 

 

It made him question why the Pokemon were so nice to him and yet wanted nothing to do with becoming his Pokemon. 

 

It couldn’t just be because they didn’t want to go into a Pokeball. There were a lot of Pokemon who hated Pokeballs but still joined a trainer, so it had to be Izuku himself. Which didn’t make sense. 

 

Surely if he was the human-Pokemon-repellant that Kaa-chan claimed he was, he wouldn’t be attracting so many wild Pokemon in droves. And why hasn’t be been driven out of forest yet?

 

It was something to ponder at least.

 

Humming to himself, Izuku heads back to the den.

 

He has to blink when he spots the addition to his home.

 

It’s an egg with swirls of orange and black stripes decorating the shell. It’s the most beautiful egg Izuku’s ever seen. He edges toward it under the watchful eyes of Arcanine. 

 

“Wow, you’re going to be a mother,” Izuku says with awe in his voice. “Can I touch it?” He reaches forward even as he asks, but his fingers stop an inch away. 

 

“Arc,” the Pokemon huffs, large muzzle suddenly snuffling at the crook of Izuku’s neck and Izuku can’t help but laugh as fur tickles the skin there. When Arcanine withdraws, Izuku takes it as a yes and gently places his palm on the egg. 

 

It pulses with energy. The shell is cold but with an underlying warmth like the kindles of a fire. 

 

It glows suddenly and Izuku yelps, snatching his hand back. He’s sure he’s done something wrong. Sure it’s about to hatch or crack. But it doesn’t, nothing happens, and Izuku can make out the silhouette of a baby Pokemon. 

 

Human and Pokemon share a look and can do nothing but stare until the odd glow dies. 

 

* * *

 

 

“Why won’t anyone become my Pokemon?” Izuku asks his self-appointed mother hen once. 

 

Toucannon gives him a look that’s half exasperated and half disappointed. It vaguely resembles the look that Gogoat gave him when he tried taking the egg home, except this time it’s on the face of a bird. Confronted with such a look, Izuku shrinks back like a child that asked a particularly stupid question. 

 

“I mean, why are you all so nice to me?” 

 

Izuku gets a peck on the forehead in response. It’s while he’s rubbing his head that Toucannon takes flight, doing wild loops and occasionally landing on a branch to make some convoluted motion with its wings. 

 

Izuku gets the idea that he’s playing charades with the Pokemon, but he’s no closer to understanding the meaning between the odd loops or jerky wing motions than he is to understanding the looks she gives him. 

 

If only Pokemon spoke human or he spoke Pokemon. Life would be so much easier. But life is never fair, so he asks Arcanine the same thing when he returns to the den. 

 

He’s tracing the patterns on the egg when he asks. 

 

Arcanine gives him the most adorable confused look ever, and Izuku forgets that he even wanted answers, cooing over the soon-to-be-mother instead. 

 

Later he learns, she used attract on him. 

 

* * *

 

 

Izuku starts taking hunting lessons. 

 

Growlithe is a patient teacher and starts him off with pouncing lessons, then in a game of charades, Izuku comes to the conclusion that he wants him to practice on the grove Pokemon. 

 

The grove Pokemon are like the neighbors. They all live within a small territory and make a community of Pokemon. No one is enemies here and things such as hunter and hunted don’t exist within the community.

 

Izuku’s seen several young Pokemon playing with some of the older Pokemon, stalking them and attacking when they least expect it. It’s almost like the entire grove raises the young and belatedly Izuku wonders if Growlithe is treating him like a baby Pokemon. 

 

He starts pouncing on Pokemon anyway. 

 

The grove Pokemon are amused and Toucannon starts rolling her eyes at him.

 

* * *

 

 

Pouncing on Pokemon is also the first step to befriending all sorts of other Pokemon, and he adds thousands of notes to his Hero-Dex. 

 

* * *

 

 

In the wild where there’s no such thing as alarm clocks and where everyone wakes up on their own time, Izuku usually wakes up at noon, and sometimes in the morning if Growlithe wakes him. 

 

This time though, it’s crazy o’clock in the morning when Izuku wakes up and wonders how so many Pokemon crammed themselves into the den without waking Izuku earlier. 

 

He gets no time to question it though, because his eyes land on the egg and it’s glowing again, just like all those day’s ago. But it’s also pulsing and rocking, and Izuku can feel heat coiling around the den from the untrained power that the egg exudes. 

 

Izuku isn’t sure how long he’s watched the egg. The pulse which Izuku had thought was fast before, begins beating faster, and even more Pokemon has crowded into the den to watch the event. 

 

The sun’s just reaching the tops of the trees when it hatches. 

 

It looks just like any other Growlithe except smaller and Izuku can still feel the untamed energy licking his skin. That was one strong hatchling. Izuku wondered if it had what Kaa-Chan called IV’s, but shrugged. It didn’t matter. Izuku was just overcome with happiness for the mother and father duo. They were parents now. 

 

“Asahi,” Izuku whispered, naming the little one. 

 

* * *

 

 

Asahi follows Izuku everywhere. 

 

Asahi is also a little copy-cat. It’s adorable, and Izuku makes it his goal to make Asahi the best pouncer that has ever pounced. 

 

Growlithe isn’t pleased. He wanted to teach his son how to hunt, damn it! 

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time since Izuku took residence in the den, he leaves the grove with Asahi at his side and Growlithe in the lead. They’re going hunting. 

 

It’s a bit embarrassing when Asahi is better than him despite the fact he still stumbles over his paws, but Growlithe doesn’t seem to mind when Izuku steps on twigs and scares away the Buneary. 

 

Apparently Pokemon within the Grove are friends even if they are prey Pokemon, while Pokemon outside are considered potential food. 

 

It’s weird, but it works. Izuku would hate the idea of eating his neighbors too. Regardless, Izuku makes such good friends with the grove’s resident Buneary and Tauros that he stops eating meat entirely and relies on an entirely vegetarian diet. 

 

Toucannon is inordinately pleased. 

 

* * *

 

It’s some time after Izuku converts to a vegetarian diet, that Toucannon introduces him to a Pidgeot. It’s easily the prettiest wild Pokemon he’s seen in person. Though its fierce eyes makes Izuku scramble back. 

 

“Um, hi,” Izuku says and swears the bird rolled its eyes at him. 

 

When the Pidgeot repeatedly squats and stands with increasingly irritated looks, Izuku finally looks at Toucannon. 

 

“Does he want me to ride him?” Izuku squeaks and both flying types coo loudly. 

 

* * *

 

Izuku flies and it’s the most amazing thing ever. From there he begins asking all sorts of Pokemon if it’s ok to ride them. 

 

His favorite will always be flying with Pidgeot, but there’s something about riding on a flaming Rapidash that get’s Izuku’s heart pumping too. Gyarados also gets his heart pumping, but for entirely different reasons. Each time he rides Gyarados, Izuku promises it will be his last, but they both know it isn’t true. 

 

Clearly, Gyarados learned the puppy eyes from Asahi. The little traitor. 

 

* * *

 

 

Life in the wilds is great. For the first time in his life, Izuku feels alive. 

 

With the wild Pokemon by his side, Izuku doesn’t need a Pokemon to call his own. Sure, he still wants one, but it’s nothing more than an occasional whisper of a thought. A what if scenario that Izuku never thinks too much about. 

 

Instead, he thinks of what his classmates would think of him now. Izuku knows that what he’s doing isn’t considered normal and that by all right’s he should have been dead a long time ago or at best driven back to the city. But he’s still here and thriving off the land with this diverse group of Pokemon. 

 

Izuku wonders what Professor Woods would say if Izuku told him of the Arbok that conversed with a Rattata, or about the Ursaring that helped the Magikarp build homes in the lake out of rocks. 

 

No one would ever believe him. 

 

It was hunter and hunted living in peace, where it should have been only the strong survive. 

 

Of course, that was only within the community. But, well, Izuku didn’t like thinking about it. He went vegetarian for a reason. He’d never be able to look Toucannon in the eye if he ever ate a Pikipek again. Regardless of if it was from outside the community or not. 

 

* * *

 

 

“Asahi!” Izuku called, circling the grove and even outside exploring the boundaries of their territory, searching for the pup.

 

It’s Poke-napping that marks a change to Izuku’s life in the wilds. 

 

He didn't notice it right away, but when he does, he feels terrible for not noticing sooner. Toucannon had grown more aggressive in the past weeks, and the Rattata were restless. 

 

Izuku thought that Ursaring had migrated, along with the birds, but peeking into the cave Ursaring shared with several Teddiursa, had Izuku facepalming. 

 

Bears didn’t migrate idiot. They hibernated. And it clearly isn’t migrating season. Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d just ridden Pidgeot the other day too, and Toucannon was still there. Surely if it was migrating season, those two would have been the first to lead their flocks. Plus the Butterfree were even caring for the flowers around the grove, and they usually migrated too… but they weren’t. 

 

Izuku returned to the den empty-handed. 

 

“No luck either, huh?” he pet Arcanine’s flank. “Don’t worry I’ll find him. Tell Growlithe I won’t be hunting with him today.” 

 

* * *

 

The grove wasn’t the only territory with missing hatchlings. 

 

After some investigating, Izuku found that the neighboring territories were also panicking over their young going missing. Some even blamed the grove, but Izuku knew it couldn’t have been them, nor the other territories. Even though hunting was a thing, Pokemon never went for the young. It was a rule. 

 

There were a lot of rules in the wilds. 

 

And maybe Izuku was putting Pokemon on a high pedestal, but he just didn’t think any Pokemon was capable of breaking the laws of the wild. 

 

Humans then? 

 

Izuku hated humans sometimes. Almost wished he wasn’t one. 

 

Humans always looked out for themselves and their best interest; they never cared for the little guy. It was one of the reasons Izuku liked All Might so much. He fought against evil and would put himself in harm's way if it meant protecting other people. Izuku would be hard pressed to find someone like All Might. It’d be just as hard as finding another person who had no Pokemon. Honestly, Pokemon were more caring than humans were.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when Toucannon and Pidgeot swooped in. 

 

“Find anything?” 

 

They hooted a positive. 

 

Izuku grinned viciously. “Show me.” He swung himself onto Pidgeot. 

 

* * *

 

It was a disaster. 

 

Trees were blown aside to make room for the cages that twisted and curved to create a dome of captured Pokemon. It seemed to leech the life away from the surrounding forest. The captured Pokemon scared and hurt. 

 

Izuku sneered in disgust, directing Pidgeot to land on the scorched land in the middle of the destruction. He could recognize a dozen homes destroyed by the structure. It was the perfect copy of the grove… you know, if the grove had been destroyed. 

 

Izuku was just about to step forward when he heard it. 

 

The sound of screaming. 

 

But it’s humans. It’s been a long time since he heard something other than parts of Pokemon names, and yet all he can feel is hate for the people screaming.

 

And then he felt it. 

 

The ground he stood on, shook and slid open. Izuku had to jump onto Pidgeot’s back to prevent himself from falling into the fissure that opened, revealing an underground tunnel. 

 

From the aerial view that Pidgeot provided, Izuku watched as people streamed out of the tunnel and into the forest, carrying weapons and screaming. Most seemed terrified of whatever they were running from but a select few - like the silver-haired man - looked more pissed than anything and shouted something about a ‘league of villains’ and a ‘fucking Arceus hack.’ 

 

It was then that Arceus - Fucking Arceus - strolled out of the tunnel and let out a mighty roar that made Izuku’s ears ring. 

 

Arceus lifted a foot and tapped it on the ground. It wasn’t even a slam, but with that mere tap, Izuku could see the Earthquake it caused and even flying, Izuku felt like he was in the middle of it, his whole body quaking. Grappling Pidgeot’s neck - and even the bird seemed to be struggling with the pressure Arceus exuded - Izuku looked down, watching as the golden rings on Arceus’ torso glowed along with its eyes and all cages released the captured Pokemon and floated them out. 

 

Once every cage was empty, all the villains were harshly levitated and slammed into the cramped space before the cage doors slammed closed. 

 

Izuku gaped. That seemed like a bit much. 

 

But Arceus was far from done because a moment later the cages - the dome - shook uprooting the attached underground base as it floated into the sky… humans in tow… it kept floated, way above Izuku, and past treetops. And disappeared. 

 

Izuku gulped. He'd demand that they be released, but- well, that was Arceus. A god. Izuku wasn't about to challenge that. He hoped they’d have a safe landing at least and weren’t heading toward the sun. 

 

It looked like they were heading toward the sun.

 

Izuku shivered, tore his eyes away to look down. He was met with blue on black eyes and a silent threat handing in the air. Izuku couldn’t help but flinch, fearing for his life as those blue eyes glowed and the pressure built around him. 

 

He took a breath, but it caught in his throat, and right when Izuku felt himself being lifted off Pidgeot’s back Toucannon squawked at Arceus. 

 

Toucannon squawked at Freaking Arceus the creator of the fucking world! 

 

It was in that scolding tone she loved using too. 

 

Never mind Izuku’s life, Toucannon was going to fucking die! 

 

Except Arceus was steadily beginning to look like a kicked puppy and even turned its head to look at the ground. 

 

And then Arceus said, “zor,” and Izuku had to raise a brow because that was not a sound Arceus should make. Zor, wasn’t apart of Arceus’ name nor did it sound like it’s cry. “Zorua…” it said again and in a flash of black and red, Arceus shrunk into a tiny Zorua with red tipped black fur and blue on black eyes. 

 

* * *

A/N: 

How do I add that pretty note section I see on other fics? I can't seem to figure it out. 

Also, what's the protocol on gift fics? I got this idea while reading a [pokemon/BNHA](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14509134) crossover and while this is different, I did take a few ideas from that author. Plus [Regrets](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13282323), was on the mind while writing this, so it probably has animal!Toshi vibes too. Am I supposed to ask before posting even though it doesn't take place in the same universe as their stories? How does that work? 

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the story so far. 

 

 

 


	2. Returning Home

 

It was- Izuku just... Arceus was Zorua and-? Wha-?

Izuku boggled.

There had to be a rule about transforming into legendaries. Wild Pokemon were a lot more civilized than research would have him believe, but Izuku’s been living in the wilds for a year now, and if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that there’s a lot of rules and customs when it comes to Pokemon. So there just has to be rule about transforming into freaking GODS.

Izuku still can’t shake the chills that race up his spine. He shivers, it really did feel like he was in the presence of Arceus himself. The image of Zorua being scolded by Toucannon didn’t seem to fit with what Izuku just saw, and damn. Izuku shivers again, his heart skipping a beat, not even Kaa-chan was able to induce the amount of fear Izuku felt just then.

* * *

They end up returning the hatchlings to each community.

Toucannon, ever the mother hen, decides to keep watch over the hatchlings that they cant carry while Izuku, Zorua, and Pidgeot run back and forth, picking up hatchlings and returning them to the right Poke-community.

It’s quite the tearjerker to see the happy reunions, and Izuku gets so many many hugs, Eskimo kisses, nuzzling, and straight up tackling, from the Pokemon in thanks. Zorua seems to have it worse though. Being at the bottom of a certified dog-pile of some of the larger Pokemon, can’t be fun.

By the time they’ve returned all the hatchling back home, the sun has already set and Izuku’s ready to head back to the Grove. There’s just one thing though. He’d started this little adventure with Toucannon and Pidgeot and now they had a plus one… who was having an animated chat with Toucannon.

More like scoldings.

Poor Zorua could barely get a word in as Toucannon squawks at him.

Running a hand through feathers, Izuku turned to Pidgeot. “Maybe we should leave them to it?”

* * *

Hours later, Izuku’s back at the den with Asahi in his arms and Arcanine and Growlithe beside him. The four of them blink down at Toucannon who has a talon firmly latched onto Zorua’s head, making him bow at an awkward angle.

“Um..”

“Zo-“

“Toucannon! Tou!”

“Arcanine,” said Pokemon nods and retreats into the back of the cave as Toucannon shoves the Zorua inside, squinting at him before squawking one last time.

“So you’re staying here for the night?” Izuku asks, watching Toucannon leave.

“Zorua.”

* * *

One night turned into several, but sometimes the Zorua would spend the night in the den and other times Izuku wouldn’t see him for days at the time.

Zorua is like a nomad.

It makes Izuku wonder where the fox went when he wasn’t in the Grove, and where he came from. It wouldn’t surprise Izuku if Zorua came from the territory just to the north of the Grove. The Zorua had a surprising amount of friends in that area, but that same could be said for the western territories and the eastern ones.

* * *

Zorua was… the exact opposite of Izuku.

Izuku was a rambler.

Zorua was a storyteller.

Izuku lost track of the number of times he’d seen Zorua standing in the middle of the Grove with hatchlings and older Pokemon for an audience. He spoke using the syllables provided to him by his name, but with intonation alone, even Izuku got swept up into stories he couldn’t put words to but somehow understood.

Everyone loved his stories, and loved Zorua even more. There wasn’t a single time when Izuku wouldn’t find Zorua without another Pokemon besides him. The only time Zorua was left alone was when he was sleeping at the den, and even then, he was always walked back with an escort or two, and at the start of the day there was always a crowd of Pokemon waiting for him to wake up.

Zorua was popular.

Izuku was ashamed to admit that Zorua’s popularity was the whole reason why he never approached the fox. They were den mates, but Izuku hadn’t spoken to Zorua beyond those few words he said when Zorua spent his first night in the den.

To be honest, Zorua reminded him of Kaa-chan. But that comparison was hardly fair. Zorua had hordes of friends not followers, and he gained those friends by being nice, not threatening.

* * *

Ignoring Zorua’s existence lasts for a while, but everything must come to an end.

Izuku and Asahi are practicing their sneaking and pouncing skills, when they spot Growlithe conversing with a Miltank and unanimously decide to practice on them. Asahi goes for the Miltank while Izuku goes for Growlithe. Except it’s not Growlithe that Izuku pounces on, but Zorua.

The illusion breaks as soon as Izuku touches it and the Zorua theatrically yelps, too fake to be real, but real shock filters through blue on black eyes when he sees it’s Izuku and not a hatchling practicing their hunting skills.

A red brow raises and Izuku gives a sheepish chuckle.

Busted.

A playful smirk spreads across Zorua’s face, and before Izuku knows it, he’s staring down the spitting image of Toucannon.

And then Toucannon-Zorua squawks, wings flapping and chases after Izuku who can’t help the laughter that bubbles from his throat.

It comes as a surprise when squawking turns into gagging and Izuku stops, mid-sprint, to turn around and see’s Zorua struggling to catch his breath and coughing up blood. Toucannon - the real one - is there within seconds and cooing gently, rubbing gentle circles over Zorua’s back.

* * *

Zorua is sick. Injured?

Does it really matter, when he coughs up blood?

Either way, Izuku can’t bring himself to ignore Zorua like he had before. Even if Zorua is good at hiding his sickness- injury-whatever, Izuku takes special care to keep an eye on the Pokemon. In a way, it’s like having a second Asahi to care for, but Zorua is nothing like the Growlithe pup.

Zorua is older, for one, possibly older than Izuku himself and as such, makes it extremely hard for Izuku to help it.

Izuku’s sure that he’s beginning to emulate Toucannon’s mother-henning, but he can’t help it and even begins to understand where the bird is coming from when he does something stupid. It gets to the point where the Zorua’s smile is complemented by a raised eyebrow whenever they see each other. Izuku swears the Zorua says something along the lines of, “yes, I really did do whatever it is you are scolding me for, and no, I won’t stop what I’m doing.”

It’s frustrating, but from the way Toucannon shoots him appreciative glances whenever he succeeds in getting Zorua to eat or rest, Izuku knows he’s at least doing something.

Still, nine times out of ten, Zorua doesn’t listen and it’s incredibly frustrating.

* * *

 

Izuku angrily takes a bite of his berry, trying his best not to look at the gossiping Pokemon in the trees. They were at it again. At first, Toucannon was scolding Zorua, but Izuku could feel their eyes on him, and it didn’t take a genius to know what they were talking about, even if he didn’t speak Pokemon.

* * *

“Why not chase him off?” Toshi asked. It wasn’t a suggestion, he was just curious.

“He’s been marked.” If it wasn’t Toucannon’s words, then her look certainly had Toshi reeling.

“What?” Toshi breathed. “Marked?”

Toshi sniffed. Izuku smelt like the forest with the smell of different Pokemon clinging to him and marking him as theirs. But that was… well it wasn’t impossible, but it was rare for so many Pokemon to take an interest in a mere human like this.

Becoming this boy’s Pokemon would have been like declaring war on all the Pokemon who took an interest in him. Toshi glanced at Izuku’s waistline, noting the lack of Pokeballs before sniffing the air again, trying to solve the problem that was Midoriya Izuku.

Izuku smelt like Nana. But Nana never had problems catching Pokemon. She’d been marked too. Chosen but not-

At some point Toshi must have closed his eyes, because he finds himself snapping them open to gape down at the boy.

“Holy shit. He’s The Chosen One?”

* * *

Izuku isn’t sure what to make of the Zorua when it suddenly gapes at him, and needs Toucannon to close his mouth. It’s a rather comical sight, but then Zorua blinks and is darting behind a bush.

Izuku doesn’t see Zorua for quite a while after that.

* * *

Izuku turns on his side, refusing to wake up just yet.

It’s hot.

It’s almost unbearable sleeping in the same den as the fire hounds, but it isn’t like Izuku can join Toucannon in her nest, and he isn’t about to impose himself on Ursaring.

Dear Arceus though! It’s humid!

At least Izuku can deduce that it’s summer again, so he’s been in the wilds for around a year now. Give or take a month.

Rolling onto his back, Izuku forces himself up, just long enough to take off his shirt. Maybe he’d ask Gyarados for a ride and spend the day at the lake.

Groaning when Asahi barrels into his side, Izuku finally opens his eyes.

“I’m up, I’m up. Geez, how are you not affected by this heat?” He stands, moving toward the cave entrance, hoping for a gust of wind.  
  
“Growl.”

“Well, I’m going to the lake today-“ Izuku pauses at the entrance of the den.

It’s early in the morning but Izuku can count all of the groves Pokemon gathered and feels like he’s imposing on something when all eyes turn on him.

“W-whats going on?” Izuku asks, trying to meet a few pairs of eyes when he catches blue-on-black orbs. He hasn’t seen Zorua for at least two weeks now. Honestly he thought the fox was upset with all of his nagging and decided to up and leave, but Zorua’s back again, and-

“HOLY sh-!” Izuku bites his tongue.

Fuck. Ho-Oh. Zorua- god dang it.

Izuku feels faint. There’s Ho-Oh in the middle of the grove, but it’s not Ho-Oh, it’s Zorua. And there needs to be a Pokemon law that prevents Pokemon from transforming into legendaries, because dear Arceus, Izuku’s heart can’t take this anymore. Once was enough.

And as if things can’t get any weirder, the crowd of Pokemon slowly part, leaving a path leading right up to the Zorua-turned-Ho-Oh.

It takes Asahi, scampering down the path for Izuku to finally get the hint and trail after the pup.

“Zorua?” Izuku asks once he gets within touching distance of the Pokemon. Bringing a hand up, suddenly shy of touching this Pokemon that he had no trouble scolding just two weeks ago, Izuku cautiously reaches for its neck.

For a second he wonders if his hand will slip through the illusion, but his fingers meet feathers. They're soft as cotton but with the thickness of steel and Izuku knows this is fake, just an illusion, but it feels like a real transformation. He can even feel the pressure radiating off the Pokemon as if he really were in the presence of a legendary.

Suddenly, the Zorua-Ho-Oh ducks his head, snatching Asahi by the scruff and flinging the pup onto it’s wide back. It gets quiet. And it takes Izuku a moment to realize that Asahi had been the only one making noise. The other grove Pokemon were unnaturally silent and it makes Izuku turn to the large gathering.

The grove was never this quiet. There was always an activity going on and something being said, but besides Izuku, Zorua, and Asahi, everyone else was merely watching the proceedings.

“I don’t understand,” Izuku says, turning back to Zorua and running his fingers through feathers.

“Growlithe,” Asahi barks followed by a huff, as Zorua crouches, head lowered and stomach brushing against the ground. It’s a similar posture to the one Pidgeot does when Izuku is about to mount him.

“You want me to ride you?”

The Zorua-Ho-Oh nods.

Izuku’s breath stutters, but he throws his leg over a long neck. Even knowing that this isn’t the real thing, it feels like it, and Izuku can’t help the smile that spreads over his face. The Zorua-Ho-Oh is larger than Pidgeot and easily towers over the Pokemon circling them. Its wingspan alone would take up two groves.

  
Izuku hangs on tight when it gives a tiny flap, sending them high above the treetops and Izuku scrambles to grab Asahi.

“Wow. This is amazing.”

It should be no different than his times flying Pidgeot, but there’s a rainbow forming behind them and golden feathers shimmer brightly in the sun. It’s also the smoothest ride Izuku has ever had. It’s more gliding than flapping, like Izuku’s added weight is nothing, and they’re going a lot faster than Pidgeot has ever gone.

“Hmm? What’s this?” Izuku hums when his fingers brush against a chain covered by feathers. The feathers offer a lot more fluff then Izuku thought, with how flattened they look, and he gently tugs on the chain.

Blue on black eyes turn to him, looking over its shoulder and long neck bending awkwardly before turning back. Izuku takes it for permission to reach around the slender neck to see if there’s a pendant attached.

It turns out there is.

It’s a shrunken Pokeball that hangs from the chain. It’s All Might’s Pokeball. Not that it says anything since All Might’s Pokeball was mass produced and practically everyone had one. (Everyone that wasn’t Izuku that is. He didn’t have a Pokemon so couldn’t purchase any Poke Gear. Pokeballs Included.)

“Are you a fan of All Might too?” Izuku asks. The ball looks old and has several scratches that mirrored All Might’s Pokeball perfectly. Both halves were dark blue with a strip of gold separating the two and the top half having a ‘V’ symbol painted over it in white with red outlining it. It sort of resembled the costume from a comic that was based on All Might.

“Did someone give this to you?” Izuku mumbled, no longer paying attention to their surroundings. “I mean, you couldn’t have walked into a Pokemart and bought it. Do you have a trainer? They could have given it to you. Do Pokemon even like accessories?”

The body beneath him shook, and Izuku’s head shot up to look at the Ho-Oh’s face, but the Pokemon wasn’t looking at him. The body shook again.

“Are you laughing at me?”

A choked off hoot was his only answer, and Izuku rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I ramble a lot. It’s only gotten worse since I ran away. It doesn’t help that none of the Pokemon can speak human. If I understood them, I might not ramble so much, but since I can’t understand what Pokemon say, I need to fill in the awkward silent moments.”

The Pokemon huffed and took a steep dive which made Izuku scramble for a grip and tighten his hold on Asahi.

“What was that for?”

And then the body he sat on shrunk, and Izuku yelped. They weren’t above the tree line anymore, but they were still far from the ground and if the Zorua turned backed to normal now, Izuku would become a Midoriya Pancake and Asahi would be road kill and he didn’t want that. But the body only shrunk and didn’t change shape. There were still feathers and wings and a long neck.

“You turned into a Fearow?” Izuku asked as the Zorua-turned-Ho-Oh-turned-Fearow once again broke through the tree line. “Why- hey! Where are you taking me?” He asked, even when he knew the answer. Right before him was the city line of Musutafu.

* * *

Izuku whipped his head around, feeling dizzy. He recognized this neighborhood and felt a bit of panic clawing at him when the Fearow landed and pecked at the door before them.

This was his home.

How did the Pokemon even know this was his house?

He didn’t want to come back.

He missed his mom. But-

The door opened.

“Hello- Izuku?”

“M-mom.” Izuku had to look down. He’d grown. Had it really been that long?

“Izuku!” Inko lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him. “Where have you been? How have you been? Izuku - I…” She cried, dusting dirt off his chest while also trying to hug him tighter. “I was so worried about you. I thought- I thought…”

“Don’t cry,” Izuku said, hugging her back. He left because he made her cry, but here he was making her cry again, and making her cry _worse_. What kind of son was he? “I’m sorry. I just- I needed to… live a little.”

“No Izuku. I’m sorry. I never realized how much pressure I was putting on you, and I never understood what was bothering you until you left. I’m truly sorry. Will you forgive me? I was such a horrible mother to-“

“No! You’re a great mom! You raised me. It’s not your fault for not noticing things that I hid from you. It was my fault. And it’s not your fault that no Pokemon wants to be my partner either. It’s just how things are.”

Inko wipes the tears away and tugs him into the house but not before Izuku looks back.

Zorua and Asahi were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

So Izuku’s back in town now and unsure of what he’s doing with his life.

Izuku felt lacking now that he’s back home. Back in the wilds there was always something to be done, something to do. But now that’s he’s back home, everything is provided for him. Izuku finds himself bored, more times than not.

Sleeping also becomes hard without Asahi curled next to him and waking up was equally as hard when there was no Toucannon to start the day with a morning wakeup call. Even when he did wake up, what was the point? His mother provided everything for him, and it wasn’t like he needed to be somewhere.

His life just felt empty.

Izuku sighed and leaned back into the bench he was sitting on. He’d gone running earlier that day and didn’t think he’d be able to take another step. Hence, the bus stop. He just hoped his mother wouldn’t worry too much when he came back late.

He sighed, he’d been doing that a lot lately and took out his phone. He’d admit to missing it. If he ever went back to the wilds he’d have to figure out a way to charge it. Maybe one of the electric types could. Izuku frowned. If there even was any electric types.

Tapping at his phone, Izuku scrolled through the All Might Forums and the comments from Present Mic’s latest show. It turns out a lot had happened since he went to the wilds.

All Might had announced that he’d be teaching at UA once the new school year started, and boy did that announcement cause a huge uproar. People were speculating about the Hero’s home life more than they ever had. Was All Might Married? Have kids? Expecting? Sick? Many feared he was going to retire or that there was something wrong with him. But there were also those that were ecstatic at the news.

Izuku himself would have been excited if it wasn’t for the big, blaring, fact that he didn’t have a Pokemon and wouldn’t be going to Highschool.

Damn, what Izuku wouldn’t give for a chance to be taught by the greatest trainer in the world.

And All Might was the best trainer, no doubt about it. Even if he wasn’t the reigning champion, All Might’s single Pokemon - his Lucario - could best all six of Endeavor’s.

Shaking his head, Izuku continued to scroll through the forums and had to roll his eyes at a few theories that people came up with. Secret lovers and hidden family where the most popular fan theories, but there were also the theories that All Might’s Lucario just hatched a pup and people wondered if All mIght would keep it or give it away and who’d get the Riolu.

Scrolling through the forums, Izuku stopped when he came across a blurry picture of Ho-Oh and a rider. He dropped his phone and scrambled to pick it up and look at the picture. It was blurry, and he couldn’t make out the face of the rider, but there was no doubt that it was him. Quickly looking at the comments, Izuku let out a sigh of relief when it was labeled fake by most.

Izuku dreaded to think what people would say if they thought it was _real_. Or worse, if they could identify him. 

Izuku looked up when he heard rustling bushes and blinked at the Zorua that popped out.

“It’s you,” Izuku gaped as the Zorua shook leaves out of its fur and yipped at him.

“Look what you’ve done,” Izuku growled in joking tones, showing him the picture. “People saw us.”

“Zorua,” it shrugged then turned back to the bush and yipped and not a second later, Asahi tumbled out.

* * *

Izuku had been in the wilds for over a year and his birthday already passed, but it didn’t stop his mother from throwing a small party with just the two of them and Gardevoir.

Izuku would have invited Asahi and Zorua, but the two popped up at the oddest of times and always randomly. Izuku was both exasperated and thankful. He worried about uncaptured Pokemon running around the city, but he missed the wilds and those two were part of his family now.

“Would you like to go to Professor Woods’ lab?” Inko asked.

“No, that’s alright,” Izuku barely withheld a wince at the thought of another failure, and the traitorous idea of having Asahi as his Pokemon.

There was no denying that Izuku loved the tiny Growlithe as a brother and out of all the Pokemon, he could think of no one better to be his partner… but no one wanted to be his Pokemon, and Izuku felt guilty just thinking about asking Asahi.

“Are you sure?” Inko looked unsure and cast a disbelieving look at Izuku.

“I’m sure,” Izuku nodded, fidgeting a little. “I-“

“Did you catch a Pokemon in the wild?”

“No! No. I um-, I don’t need a Pokemon,” Izuku said.

“Are you sure?” Inko asked again, this time looking worried.

“I’ll get a Pokemon eventually. But I don’t think Professor Woods has what I want.”

“Alright, if you're sure,” Inko said when the door knocked, and they both looked up. “I’ll get it. You finish your cake.”

Obediently taking a bite of his cake, Izuku watched his mother’s back disappear around the hallway, and heard the door open, followed by a startled gasp.

“Izuku! I think it’s for you.”

Huh? Who’d visit him? Walking toward the door, Izuku jerked back when he saw himself staring back at him. Green hair, freckles on tanned cheeks, and a decent build that hinted at being active. If it weren’t for the eyes and clothes that Izuku didn’t have, it could have been him.

His clone waved with a smile and raised brow while Asahi yipped at their feet.

“Zorua, you need to stop that,” Izuku facepalmed. First the legendaries and now Zorua was transforming into him! And of course, the Zorua didn’t care and snickered at him before lifting his hand and showing Izuku the bag he took with him to the wilds.

The backpack was filthy, All Might’s colors dulled, but it was how he left it. He’d forgotten about the things he left at the den. Taking the bag, Izuku riffled through the front pocket. Good. The Pokeball he found was still in there, and so was his hero-dex.

“Thank you.”

“Would you like to come in?” Inko asked suddenly. “We’re having a late birthday party for Izuku.”

Asahi seemed all for it, yipping happily and takes off into the house, but Zorua gave an unsure look. And did Izuku really look like that? Zorua glanced back, head swiveling back and forth - looking for the sun Izuku realized, trying to tell the time. Maybe Zorua had plans already?

A spike of jealousy hit Izuku at the thought of Zorua returning to the wilds. He wanted to go back too. But he couldn’t leave his mother like that. Not again.

“Zorua,” the fox-boy shook his head, hands spread. “Zorua!” He called, and Asahi came racing back, All Might plushy in his mouth.

“Lithe?”

“Zor, Zorua, zor.”

“I can watch him,” Izuku volunteered, once it became apparent that Asahi didn’t want to leave.

“Growlithe!”

Zorua grunted, smile gone and lips pressed into a line before he shook his head. He held up seven fingers.

“Seven tonight?”

Zorua shook his head.

“Tomorrow?”

He nodded.

“So you’ll pick Asahi up at seven tomorrow?” Izuku asked, then added, “Morning?”

“Zor.”

* * *

Asahi loved Izuku’s room. Or rather all the All Might merch. The pup even grabbed all the All Might plushies and made a small pile on Izuku’s bed.

Izuku wasn’t even sure what was going on, in the hound’s head, but Izuku didn’t bother stopping him and even helped. They got no sleep that night, and when Zorua came to pick up Asahi, the dog was barely awake.

Asahi was also wearing an All Might bandanna, and Izuku pushes an All Might doll into Zorua’s hand.

“Here,” he said. “It’s for Asahi,” he said as he gently passed the sleeping dog to Zorua… who was disguised as Izuku… he’d have to get the fox to stop that.

Izuku didn't catch the strange look that crossed Zorua's face.

* * *

Izuku starts bumping into Zorua and Asahi whenever he’s out.

On his morning jogs he bumps into them. Izuku even changes his routes but they always manage to find him, and the three of them run around the neighborhood together.

When Izuku goes to a cafe that caters to Pokemon and Humans alike, Asahi is eating biscuits and yipping with a fellow Pokemon, and when Izuku leaves, he spots an elderly woman in need of help, but before he can get there, there’s another green haired boy taking the woman by the hand and helping her cross the street.

And when the woman comments on how nice his Zorua is, Izuku can’t refute the claim because Zorua had jumped onto his shoulder.

It feels good claiming a Pokemon as his own, even if it’s not, and Izuku loves them both.

He loves them so much that he’s not willing to risk their friendship just so that he can have a Pokemon. No matter how much he wants a partner, the fear of losing them is worse, so he doesn’t ask.

* * *

“It’s not fair,” Izuku says one day when he see’s the Zorua. Asahi is nowhere in sight, which suits him just fine. The younger Pokemon wouldn’t have taken his disappointment as well as Zorua.

Hugging his legs, Izuku looks out into the ocean. He’s at a beach that’s become a dumping ground over the years. Since returning home, he’s started clearing a truckload of the trash per day, and he’s just finished with his truckload for the day.

“I just- I don’t get it. Maybe if I had a reason, I’d be more willing to accept it, but it’s just not fair,” Izuku drops his head to his knees. He can feel the Zorua’s inquisitive look and imagines that it’s giving him that raised eyebrow of his. “Why won’t any Pokemon become mine?”

“None of the Pokemon that the Professor has will join me. We’ve tried all sorts of Pokemon. I even got an egg once, but as soon as I stepped out of the building, its mother came back for it. What’s wrong with me? Why won’t anyone become my partner?”

He’s crying now and probably babbling, but Izuku can’t bring himself to stop. Gods he wished he was still in the wilds. Back there, there wasn’t any pressure for not having a Pokemon. He was equal with the Pokemon that surrounded him, and no one expected him to have one. It was nice. But here… Here where everyone had a Pokemon, even four-year-olds, where people were expected to have Pokemon and Izuku had none. He was a third rate citizen.

“None of the Pokemon would give me an answer either. It’s not like I’m a horrible person either. I know Pokemon can sometimes read the intent of the humans that want to partner with them. So why? Is there something wrong with me? Can they tell that I’ll be a horrible trainer without even letting me try? And if I’d make such a horrible trainer then why do Pokemon become friends with me? I’ve always been able to make friends with Pokemon fairly easy. The nest of Pidgey in the backyard were nice. I even asked if they’d like to be my starter, but the day after I asked they left. All the Pokemon are the same. Some won’t leave like the Pidgey had, but they don’t want to be near me after I ask either.”

“It’s not like I can catch a Pokemon. I tried purchasing Pokeballs before, but without a Pokedex I’m not allowed to, and without a Pokemon I can’t get a Pokedex. Mom offered to catch me a Pokemon too. And she did. It was an Eevee and we got along well, up until the point where mom handed me its Pokeball that is… It went crazy… destroyed the TV and attacked me and mom. Eventually, it destroyed its Pokeball and ran away.”

Izuku sniffed, shoulders shaking and wiped his eyes against his knees when he felt something settle on his arm, he looked up, peering into blue on black eyes.

“I don’t suppose you’d be my Pokemon would you?” Izuku asked, contempt clear in his voice.

The Zorua winced, and Izuku dropped his head back into his lap.

“That’s ok. You aren’t the first. Just attempt one thousand.”

“Young Midoriya, you’d make a fine trainer when you find the partner destined for you.”

Izuku snapped his head up, looking for the owner of that voice and blushing furiously. He hadn’t meant for anyone else to hear, but the only one near was the Zorua and that voice was much too deep to belong to such a tiny Pokemon. Granted, Zorua’s voice had always been deep, but -

“Did you just talk?”

The Zorua grinned widely, showing teeth, before turning and walking away.

“Don’t lose hope my boy. You’re one of the few destined for greatness and not many Pokemon are.”

“You did just talk!” Izuku yelped and stood to chase after the Zorua, but the Pokemon had rounded a heap of trash, and by the time Izuku caught up to where it disappeared, it was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've learned that I'm a slow updater. I'm over here, updating after, um, a month? While I see people juggling multiple stories and updating something every day. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you guys for the kudos, bookmarks, and reviews ^^ I haven't responded, but I have read them! Really thank you guys so much and I'm glad everyone is liking the story so far.


	3. Hookie's Search and Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school year starts but Izuku won't be attending UA, or any school for that matter.

There's a rampaging Tyranitar downtown.

It's attacking the Might Tower and… All Might is nowhere in sight.

“Come on All Might,” Izuku mumbles, biting his nails, notebook forgotten on his lap from where he sat on the couch with his mother. Similarly, Inko sat frozen, clear nail polish dripping onto her shirt as she stares at the TV. It was one of those rare days where Inko had the entire day off, and although Izuku was itching to go running and find Zorua, he also missed opening time with his mother. Which led to them watching the news _Live_.

Izuku couldn’t tear his eyes from the screen, wondering where All Might was. Where his shiny Lucario had gone. If the Tyranitar was a villain’s Pokemon.

On-screen people ran. Tears of terror running down their face’s as they screamed. Many were injured, the Might Tower itself had seen better days. As it was, it looked slightly lopped sided, tilted at an angle. It would take a team of Machoke, Graveler, and Gurdurr to fix it. No doubt Cementos would be called to take care of all the damaged property.

Izuku sighes, it’d be awesome if he had the ability to stop the Tyranitar. Instead he's stuck at home, watching the destruction going on.

And where is All Might anyw-

The screen goes static for a split second, and suddenly, All Might was there, emerging from the smoke and engaging with the Tyranitar.

For any other human such a fight would have been deadly but All Might - _who could bench press cars_ \- laughed as he exchanged punches for slashes.

On top of being the best trainer and number one hero, All Might was probably the strongest man on the planet.

He was known for going up against Pokemon and coming up on top.

Even friendly spars against his Lucario led to ties, according to fan forums.

Izuku shiveres, watching the brutal battle. Both sides stood on equal ground. Hands locked with paws, both sides trying to push the other, when the Tyranitar’s mouth started to glow with dark energy and - BOOM!

The tv goes static for another second, and Izuku holds is breath as the screen comes back on showing-

All Might with his back to a wall and Tyranitar holding him up by his neck-

NO!

All Might struggled within the grip, for once not smiling, clawing at the hand on his throat.

Where was -

Lucario raced onto the scene, entering Close Combat- distracting the Tyranitar enough for All Might to escape and catch his breath.

Thank Arceus.

* * *

All Might stumbles into his office, closing the door shut before steam rolls off his form and he drops onto all fours, trying to relieve the pressure on his one remaining lung.

That choke hold hadn’t done his throat any favors, never mind the struggle his lung went through trying to supply enough air to his already deprived body.

He coughs -and fails to convince himself to walk to his desk- when the door opened and a Lucario walked in.

They eye each other, Toshinori looking at the visible scrapes along the shiny’s arms, while the Lucario fixes him with an unimpressed look.

“You should go to Recovery Girl,” the Lucario says.

“I do not look nearly as injured as you, Sensei,” Toshinori coughs and has to paw at his throat. His voice sounded hoarse.

The Lucario gives him an incredulous look. “Come on, Toshi. I’m taking you to Recovery Girl.”

“I have a class to teach.”

“Kit, school’s done.”

“W-what?” Toshinori rasps, looking at the clock on the wall. It was already three in the afternoon. He visibly wilted. “The first day of school, and I already screwed up.”

“Heh. Well, at least you didn’t have to deal with any brats today. On the other hand, I had to babysit a room full of hatchlings before saving your ass again.”

The grin on the Lucario’s face promises retribution, making Toshinori shiver at the thought of a spar or upcoming prank. Gran always did enjoy finding new ways to freak out the smaller Pokemon.

“I’m sorry,” Toshinori offers and promptly coughs up a lung of blood, making the Lucario roll his eyes.

“Alright, Recovery Girl now, ya’ idiot,” Gran ordered.

“It isn't that bad. My throat will heal.”

“Like how your stomach grew back?”

“Well-“

“I ain’t taking any risks, kit,” Gran states and proceeded to pick him up by his ruff.

Toshinori groans, going limp. He wasn’t a hatchling anymore, but Gran still treated him like one.

* * *

The high school year started, but Izuku wasn’t attending any.

And to make matters worse, he couldn’t find Zorua anywhere.

Usually, it’s Zorua and Asahi who find him, but now that the roles are reversed, Izuku can’t find any sign of the two Pokemon. It’s not uncommon for Izuku to go several days without seeing the fox, but Asahi almost never goes a day without showing up.

Deciding to take a break from his morning run, Izuku turns into the park, keeping his eyes open for a flash of orange and taking shy glances at anything with eyes, trying to find a familiar blue-on-black.

Of course, his friends aren’t there, and Izuku collapses onto a bench, debating his most recent regret.

He regrets asking Zorua. He knew he shouldn’t have, but in a rare fit, he did anyway.

_“I don’t suppose you’d be my Pokemon, would you?”_

It's unfair. Izuku shook his head. It was his fault Zorua was avoiding him. The Zorua had probably shared his moment of selfishness with Asahi, and that was why he hadn’t seen the pup either.

Just his luck too. Izuku really wanted to talk to Zorua, get an explanation. Maybe, finally, have a friend to talk to who wasn’t his mother or her Gardevoir. Talking to Asahi was nice, but the pup was just a hatchling and Izuku got the feeling that half the things he said, went right over the Growlithe’s head.

* * *

The back of Toshinori's throat burns as documents float before him, his expression growing stonier as the seconds tick by and he swaps one document for another. This is unacceptable. Toshinori swallows the itch in his throat. None of these paper’s has what he wants, and after double checking and triple checking, he’s ready to barge into Young Midoriya’s home and demand an explanation.

The boy isn’t going to attend UA.

Scratch that. Izuku isn’t going to attend any high school. _EVER._  

Toshinori has half a mind to take this issue straight to Enji.

The way things are set up is wrong. From age four, a child’s career was limited because of the Pokemon they received. Children with Pokemon that were considered weak had limited options. A person with a Butterfree, for example, was on the fast track to becoming a gardener, regardless of if the person in question was interested in plants. And Izuku, who had no Pokemon at all, wouldn’t be considered for any job, regardless of his qualifications.

It was no wonder the boy decided to run away!

Toshinori glares at the last floating document -which still didn’t have Izuku’s name on it- and promptly coughs up a mouthful of flames… with blood.

If anyone deserved an education - needed it - it was Izuku.

Toshinori refused to sit there and wait for destiny to catch up to the boy before taking action. Izuku was the Chosen One, and like hell would Toshinori let an unprepared hatchling fight for the world without any training.

But he had a class to teach, so while he would have loved to do something about Izuku’s situation right that moment, he shrugged on the form of All Might and strode into his first - it should have been his second - class of the year.

* * *

Without Zorua or Asahi to distract him, Izuku starts spending a lot of his time on his phone or laptop, surfing the web. He spends more time on his electronics than he did before he went to the wilds.

His mother is probably worried that he’ll grow up to be one of those shut-ins, but it’s not like he has any future to speak of.

Izuku grits his teeth, quickly banishing those thoughts. It was things like that that made him run away to begin with, and he’d already promised never to do that again… no matter how much he wants to.

Scrolling through the forums, Izuku clicks on a link that directs him to a video of Present Mic. The man was famous for his radio station, but he was also known for making it into the big leagues and was even offered a spot as a member of the Elite Four, but turned it down.

With Mic’s voice in the background, Izuku looks through the comments.

 **Ingenium** : I believe Present Mic has his information wrong, for once.

 **Creati:** He’s just reporting the news as he saw it. Nothing is solid fact yet. But if it is true, I think it’s about time All Might added another Pokemon to his team.

_Wait. What?_

Izuku ignored the rest of the comments in favor of scrolling back to the video and rewinding it to the start.

“Hello, my dear listeners tha-“

As much as he loved Mic’s introductions… Izuku fast forwards.

“-UA is still taking applications if you-“

Nope, not what he’s looking for.

“Now for the latest hero gossip, word has it that All Might has added a second member to his team. There’s no confirmation from the big guy yet, but we have pictures of All Might’s Lucario hanging out with a Growlithe!”

That’s Asahi in that picture. Izuku would recognize that knock-off of Zorua’s smile anywhere.

* * *

“So we can either videotape someone else’s battle or videotape our own battle?” Asui asks.

“That is correct! However, if you choose to record your own battle it cannot be against another student in class 1-A,” All Might nods.

“But it can be against another student?” Kaminari questions, and All Might nods again.

“What about someone who doesn’t attend UA?”

“As long as you are not battling a family member,” All Might states. “The goal of this project is to analyze your fighting style against opponents that you are unfamiliar with. While you may not know the techniques that your fellow classmates use, you will be with each other for your entire high school career and will learn from each other.”

“Huh, that makes sense,” All Might heard Yaoyorozu mumble, along with, “All Might isn’t as big an idiot as I thought.”

He chose not to address that comment and makes a show of looking at his illusioned watch.

“Alright! Class is officially over!”

Time to deal with _the Chosen-One-Dilemma_.

* * *

In retrospect, he should have thought this through better.

Toshinori fidgets at the gates of an abandoned house that was his home during his hatchling years and belonged to the last Champion. He hadn’t visited for years even though the house was under the name Yagi Toshinori, a human identity Nana made for him.

Slipping through rusted bars, Toshinori glances around the overgrown yard and the weeds that snake up the sides of the house and into broken windows. Being back here brought happy memories. The crater at one side of the yard was the product of Toshinori’s first spar against Gran. The shiny hadn’t taken well to some of Toshinori’s antics and beat him into the ground, destroying some of the plants. Nana wasn’t too upset though and decided to turn the crater into a small pond to nurse a Magikarp back to health. But now, it’s nothing more than a dip in the ground and Toshinori walks passed it.

He feels a bit apprehensive, but he treks the space between the gate and porch, and before he knows it, he’s nose to wood with the door and nudges it open. The door creaks and its frame showers him with dust.

Toshinori sneezes. He can feel electricity tickling his fur and the ominous presence that accompanies all ghost type Pokemon.

“YOU!” a bolt of light zips through the house and stops right in front of him.

“Nighteye! It’s been a while, my friend!” Toshinori smiled through the urge to flinch.

“Enough of the pleasantries. You haven’t been here since you got that injury,” the Rotom states, sneering down at him as if he could see through Toshinori’s illusion of a healthy Zorua and for a second he considers dropping it but thinks better of it. He isn’t here to prove the Rotom right about his future demise; he’s here to get help.

“I just need a few things.” Hook.

“What?”

“Nana’s aura regulating gloves.” Line.

“WHY?!” Nighteye booms, sparks dance along his pin head and lights up the dark house. “You have no use for them!”

“I might not. But I found this generation’s Chosen One.” And Sinker.

“You found who?”

* * *

Midoriya Inko startles when the front door of her house bangs open and looks up to meet the familiar face of her son. Except it’s not Izuku. The eyes are wrong, and Izuku would never wear a plain shirt if given the option.

Inko opens her mouth to say something, and belatedly realizes she should probably scream at the intrusion, but the stranger shoots her a sheepish look and steps back, right out the door, and closes it with a near silent _click_.

Inko waits a second. Wondering what the hell just happened when her doorbell rings and against all reason she opens it.

“You must be looking for Izuku.”

He smiles wide, and despite the fact Izuku has never smiled that large since he turned four, Inko wouldn’t mind seeing that look on her son’s face.

* * *

Izuku’s writing his third iteration of a letter to All Might to let him visit Asahi, but when his mother calls him he head’s to the front door.

“Zorua!” Izuku says, hastily wiping away a tear. “I thought you were mad at me.” _He thought he’d never see the fox again_.

The Zorua raised a brow as if saying, “really? You think something as small as that would make me upset?”

* * *

They head to the park, and after a grumbled complaint - “why are you disguised as me?”- the Zorua drops his illusion to hop onto Izuku’s shoulder.

“So you can talk?” Izuku asks and for a moment thinks that Zorua won’t answer him, that he’d dreamed the whole thing up. But then the fox nods.

“Mm-hmm.”

“How?”

The Zorua’s voice is soft but deep, and a tad raspy. “How does anyone talk? I assume it has something to do with one’s vocal cords.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Izuku huffed. “I mean how did you learn? I know it’s possible for Pokemon to speak human but not many do.”

“I decided to talk one day, so I did.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“But it is the truth.”

Izuku thinks on that while he approaches the park. 

* * *

They talk about everything and anything related to Izuku’s time in the wilds. It’s nice talking to someone who won’t judge him, and despite his screw up from the last time they saw each other, the Zorua never brings it up and Izuku is grateful.

Eventually, they go their separate ways, but not before the Zorua walks up to a massive tree that sits at the heart of the park.

The fox scales up the trunk until he’s hidden behind a layer of leaves and Izuku blinks up.

“Um…”

Green vines reach down and wrap around his torso, pulling him up-up-up and depositing him onto a sturdy branch. Izuku can’t help but gulp. This is the tallest tree in the region. Izuku knows it’s a towering three hundred feet tall which is about forty stories high.

“Over here, Young Midoriya,” Zorua says, causing Izuku to snap out of his thoughts, flinching badly and scrambling for a hold.

He’s been hundred’s of feet in the air before thanks to Pigeot, but Izuku would rather be on the ground. He trusted Pidgeot and Zorua not to drop him, but a tree? Izuku can’t trust a tree to catch him if he slips off. His fingers dig into the tree bark, and he almost, _barely_ , manages to tear his eyes away from his death grip on the branch. When he does, he gapes.

Zorua’s head is sticking out of the tree’s trunk… like it’s mounted there…

_What? How?_

“I have something for you,” Zorua says before his head completely sinks into the trunk.

Izuku could have been frozen for an hour, trying to process the fact that Zorua was a ghost, and he was stuck three hundred feet above ground, and dear Arceus. Was this revenge for his selfish question-?

When a bolt of lightning zapped from the tree, and Izuku gasped, stumbling back, trying to dodge. But the lightning stops a foot away, and Izuku goes cross-eyed for a second before he feels himself f a l l i n g.

“Nighteye, you and I will be sharing some words,” a deep voice filters through the panic, and Izuku looks up to see Zorua standing on the branch he’d been sitting on early and the lighting - a Rotom - floating next to him.

And Izuku... Izuku isn’t falling; he's floating.

“My apologies. I did not think Nighteye would greet you like that,” Zorua says, and Izuku floats back up - and into the trunk. Which, ok, it was actually an illusioned hallow. But any non-Ghost could have died going through a solid object like that. So excuse him for slightly freaking out.

Izuku took a look around. Was this where the Zorua lived? It looked surprisingly… human, all things considered. The hallow was huge. It was tall enough for Izuku to stand - stretch his hands above his head- and still be unable to reach the roof, and wide enough to fit a medium-sized condo. It could have passed off as a human’s home. There was a king sized bed of all things, a couch, and a desk. There was even a wooden basin full over water.

“This is Nighteye,” the Zorua says, snapping Izuku’s attention back to the strange Rotom. “He is here to-“ and here the Zorua paused, frowning with a look of confusion. “Well, he is my friend I suppose,” he ends lamely.

“You suppose?” the Rotom repeats, and in Japanese no less. As if one Pokemon speaking a human language wasn’t already mind-blowing, now there are two!

“Uh,” Izuku turns back to the fox, hoping they wouldn’t fight. “You said you had something for me?”

“Ah,” Zorua fidgets, looking toward Nighteye who rolls his eyes.

“He wants me to give you something I’ve been guarding for a while now,” Nighteye says, and Izuku blinked. While he was curious as to what a Pokemon could give him, there wasn’t much he wanted or needed, and if Nighteye didn’t want to part with it, then he didn’t have to. Not for Izuku at least. And he voiced this.

Beyond all reason, the Rotom chuckles. “Do you know why Pokemon won’t partner with you?”

Izuku gaped. “What?” his voice sounded windy.

“Do you know what aura is?”

“Like Aura Sphere?”

“That is one of its physical manifestations,” Nighteye nodded. “Every living thing has Aura; some are just born with more than others.”

“Ok…?” How did aura have anything to do with Izuku not having a partner? His question must have shown on his face because Zorua answered.

“What your regional professor hasn’t told you is that a small amount of a trainer’s soaks the Pokeballs of the Pokemon. In your case, your aura is powerful, plentiful, but untrained. Unless the Pokemon you intend to partner with knows how to control their aura, it would lead them into insanity. If you heard the term 'power crazy,' it is like that.”

“If that’s true, then what about the Riolu I’ve tried partnering with?” They had the inborn talent of controlling their aura after all and with All Might’s Lucario being the strongest Pokemon in the world, there was a lot of Riolu and Lucario’s out there thanks to breeders.

“Your aura also attracts Pokemon-“

“But then-“

“Let me finish. Since you have a lot of aura, a lot of Pokemon would love to be your Pokemon, but it’d be a danger to them, and that is why unless they know how to control their aura they cannot be yours. However, you’ve attracted a lot of Pokemon, and they’ve essentially marked you as their territory. So even if a Pokemon like a Riolu were to come around, unless they were comfortable enough to- say, fight a thousand Pokemon- they would not become your Pokemon.”

“So I need a Pokemon that’s both strong and can control their Aura?”

“Essentially.”

Izuku breathed. “Does such a Pokemon exist?” He near exploded. With such requirements, it was no wonder he didn’t have a Pokemon yet! And how could he ask someone to be his partner now that he knew they'd be making an enemy out of all the other Pokemon he'd met?! 

“Perhaps, but there is also a workaround. If you learn to control your aura, you won’t need a Pokemon who knows how to control their own.”

“But I’ll still need a strong Pokemon.”

“Well…yes.”

“Where am I going to get one of those!?”

The Zorua shrugged, giving him one of his patented smile with a raised brow.

“Well, just be happy that I am not one of those thousand that your future partner will have to fight.”

Izuku groaned.

* * *

Izuku took the blood red gloves with glass marbles around the knuckles from Nighteye. “What are these for?”

“They’re for your hands.”

“I know that!”

“They’ll help you regulate your aura.”

“You’ll teach me!? But I just met you!”

“No, Toshinori will.”

_T_ _oshinori? **Zorua?**_

* * *

Izuku settles into a semi-regular routine. In the morning’s he cooks breakfast for two. Then he does some research on All Might and fails at gathering the nerve to contact the hero about Asahi. Then he’d go running for a couple of hours and meet Zorua- _Toshinori_ at the beach where Izuku would train.

And wasn’t that a weird thought.

Izuku, a human, being trained by a Pokemon?

Usually, it was the Pokemon being trained by the human, but the roles were reversed here.

Not that Izuku was complaining, but it was strange. Izuku had been witness to a lot of strange things since going to the wilds.

Zor- _Toshinori_ was an excellent teacher. He was patient when he needed to be, strict when it came to regimen, and never failed to shower Izuku with praise when he accomplished anything. There was a vast difference between Zorua’s teaching style and Izuku’s old teacher’s from middle school.

Still, there were times when Izuku didn’t grasp the concepts fast enough, and despite how Toshinori would explain things to him and show him, Izuku just couldn’t. It made him feel like a failure like he should be better than this, but Toshinori always said he was doing better than he thought and that Toshinori himself was at fault.

But he wasn’t!

Toshinori was the best!

And alright, there were times when the fox would say something that had Izuku wondering if there was a translation error, but no, Toshinori really did mean, “clench your butt cheeks and yell this inside your heart, ‘SMASH.’”

That advice hadn’t worked, but after only a month Izuku was proud to say that he could sense his aura and the aura around and could even use Aura Sight to 'see' through the mounds of trash.

* * *

Toshinori was the first to spot two of his students in the park. For a moment he wonders why they were there before he remembers the assignment he gave his students. He’d given them two months to complete it, but even then it seemed that some students were starting it late.

Inwardly shrugging, Toshinori turns his attention back to Izuku. What his students did outside of school wasn’t his business -even if it was homework- and it wasn’t like they would recognize him as their teacher anyway.

“Oi, Deku!” Of course, if his students made it their business to bother Izuku, well, that was another matter entirely.

_Deku?_

Toshinori glances at his students, Bakugou and Kirishima. The redhead held a camera up to his face, while the blonde had a tight grip on his Pokeball, his Quilava already out.

And - huh - Quilava was even bigger than Toshinori. It shouldn’t have been shocking, but considering he only interacted with his students and their Pokemon as the behemoth known as All Might… well, he had an excuse.

“Did you finally get a Pokemon?”

“K-Kaa-chan! I- no, this isn’t - he isn’t my Pokemon.”

Toshinori blinked, wait - was Izuku, Deku? That didn’t sound like a nice nickname. Did he know Bakugou?

“Then why’s he hanging out with a pathetic wimp like you?”

Toshinori growled low in his throat, narrowing his eyes and Izuku gulped. The boy couldn’t help but wonder if this was it- if Toshinori would finally see how useless Izuku actually was and abandon him for someone like Katsuki. Izuku wouldn’t blame the fox if he did. But Toshinori’s growl only deepened as he squared his shoulders, putting himself between the two boys.

“Heh, looks like this worthless Pokemon was made for you, Deku.” Bakugou kicked dirt in Toshinori's face.

“He isn’t worthless!”

“Prove it! Battle me!”

“What? You know I can’t. Zorua isn’t-“

“Zorua!” Toshinori snapped, _let’s fight!_

“Toshinori?”

The fox nodded. He’d rather not battle a student, but Izuku needed practice with Pokemon battles and Bakugou needed a lesson in humility, and what type of teacher would he be if he didn’t deliver?

“Are-“ Izuku gulped. “Do you want to battle?”

“Zor!”

“Alright.”

“About time Deku! Quilava, Flame Wheel! Let's go!”

Toshinori dodges without prompting, jumping into the air, positioning himself for the perfect attack, but Izuku didn’t take advantage of it, and Toshinori risks a glance at the boy. He was frozen, mouth struggling to form words.

“Tch! Again Quilava!”

Toshinori lands, resisted the urge to dodge, braced himself for the attack-

“Use Protect, Toshinori!” Just in time, a green shield springs up before him, shimmering as the Quilava crashed into it.

“Jump over it, and use Flamethrower!”

“Copycat!”

Two Flamethrower’s clashed, forcing the two apart as a smokescreen enveloped the area and Toshinori blinked, blinded for a moment.

“Two o’clock, _Earthquake!_ ”

The ground rumbled. 

“Deku! What the fuck!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile, hasn't it? I had the hardest time trying to write this chapter, and I'm still not happy with it, but here it is! 
> 
> Anyway this chapter is for Starling_Starwing who drew my awesome profile pic! Every time I look at it, I get giddy and feel like crying. I really can't thank them enough!


	4. Sports Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku's training gets taken up a notch and he meets some important Pokemon.

“How the f-“ Kaa-chan stops, pauses, then takes a breath and tries again. “How does a Zorua know Earthquake?” 

Izuku sits on his hands to stop them from twitching and looks at Toshinori who isn’tpaying attention. Izuku wilts on the inside. “He copied it.” 

“Copied it? You mean he used Copy-Cat…? Copy-Cat doesn’t work like that, you idiot! He’s not supposed to remember how to use moves he copied!” 

“Well, this Zorua does!” Izuku shouts and immediately regrets it when Kaa-chan glares at him. 

“Where’d you get him?” 

“He’s not mine.”  

“Your mom’s then?” 

“No,” Izuku shook his head. He wasn’t Toshinori’s trainer and didn’t even know if he had one. Izuku was of the opinion that Toshinori had an older trainer who didn’t pay close attention to where their Pokemon wondered. Or maybe his trainer was dead. Izuku frowned, he didn’t like that idea. 

“If he’s not yours, or your mom’s, then who does he belong to?” 

Toshinori huffed, and Izuku caught the end of an eye-roll, but when blue-on-black meet green, the fox just gave him an innocent look. Toshinori was no help at all. 

“I don’t know. I met him in the wilds.” 

“Wait,” the teen Kaa-chan introduced as Kirishima gave him a considering look. “Aren’t you that guy who lived in the wilds for a year without any Pokemon?”

“I- uh, I mean, I did but uh, I’m probably not the person you’re referring to.” 

“You’re the same age as us, and you still don’t have a Pokemon, right?”  

Izuku nodded. 

“Then I’m pretty sure you’re the same guy I’m thinking about.” 

Izuku winced, expecting the usual condescending words and wondering how the red-head knew he didn’t have a partner and that he lived in the wilds for a year.

“We had a lecture about our history and how things changed so that kids get Pokemon when they turn four instead of ten, but we also read an article about your case.” 

“My case?” Izuku repeated. There was an article!? About him? Who’d write an article about Izuku? 

Kirishima nodded, “yeah, it was short. Basically, it mentioned that you were fourteen years old and didn’t have a Pokemon but still went into the wilds and somehow returned. Man, you’re so manly Deku! I don’t think I could live in the wilds without Tyrunt by my side.” 

Izuku boggled. “Uh, thank you?” 

“Tch,” Kaa-chan scoffed. “You still don’t have a Pokemon though. If this Zorua isn’t yours, then it must be wild. If you won’t catch it, then I will.” 

Izuku barely had time to gasp, let alone intercept the ball, and Toshinori - who was still playing the part of an innocent Pokemon - simply tilted his head and let the Pokeball hit him on the shoulder, bursting into a red light that surrounded him, and Izuku gapes. Toshinori is wild. A Pokeball wouldn’t surround him in red light if he wasn’t. If Toshinori had a trainer, the ball would have bounced off harmlessly. 

* * *

Several broken Pokeballs later and an impromptu battle that ends before it even starts, and Izuku finally manages to excuse himself and drags Toshinori with him.

“You don’t have a trainer?” 

“I’m my own trainer.” 

What was that supposed to mean? 

* * *

They go back to their usual routine of cleaning the beach and trying to get Izuku to use his aura in new ways. And it’s almost gets boring until Toshinori asks, “do you want to watch UA’s Sport’s Festival next week?”

“Well, yeah,” Izuku scratches the back of his head. “Everyone wants to watch the Sport’s Festival. Mom is even going to buy the channel to watch it live.” 

“I have a couple extra tickets if you want them-“ 

“I can watch it in person? At the stadium? YES! I’ll take them!” 

“Not so fast Young-Midoriya,” Toshinori chuckles. “You have to earn them first.” 

“I’ll do anything!” Izuku declares but at Toshinori’s raised eyebrow he reconsiders. “Well, almost anything.” 

“Good. We’re upping your training. Now, put this on,” Toshinori hands him a black strip of cloth. 

* * *

The next five days are pure hell. If he didn’t know any better, Izuku would have said he was training for the Sports Festival. Except the festival he was preparing for was on steroids.

It was insane, but there must have been a method to Toshinori’s madness because Izuku could feel the results. 

He trained with blindfolds. 

“It’s a way to get better at Aura Sight,” Toshinori said. 

“It’s also a great way to get bruises,” Izuku noted. 

The blindfolds weren’t even half of it, however. Izuku’s leisurely stroll around the block turned into a run for his life around the city, with Toshinori illusioned as a Houndoom on his heels. 

Izuku swore Toshinori made himself look more menacing than the normal Houndoom; with horns larger than average and claws the length of Izuku’s hand. Not that Izuku could even see this, blindfolded as he was but after the second day something clicked, and Izuku could _see_. 

When he first learned how to use Aura Sight, or at least the human equivalent of it, he could only make out blobs of the people and Pokemon around him. But after spending two days blindfolded and running into inanimate objects, Izuku was starting to see things in detail. 

Blue blobs turned into blue people and Pokemon, and if Izuku focuses hard enough, he could see their aura pulsing in beat with their heart and the aura drifting in the air, leaving small imprints on other people.

It was seeing like he’d never seen before, and Izuku was amazed at all the detail’s he usually missed. Like the woman from the corner shop? She had a bruise around her wrist and a sickly aura- not her own - around the area. And the bus driver? He emanated the aura that clung to the woman. 

It was unsettling. Almost like Izuku could break down a person’s entire history just by reading their aura. It felt like a breach in privacy, and Izuku felt dirty. 

But when Izuku explains this, Toshinori leveled him with a solemn gaze and tells him, “this is what heroes see every day. The good and bad, and the shock that their best friend is not who they thought and that their enemy could actually be their greatest friend. It is all in a day’s work for a hero.” 

Izuku goes home with a lot on his mind and too many questions without any answers. He wants to quit training with Toshinori but knows that he’ll be right back at that beach the following day. 

He wants to quit, it’s wrong, it’s like looking at a girl naked, but with this he could see the good and bad in people, and could tell when someone needed help but was too afraid to ask. With this, he could potentially stop someone before they harm another. And isn’t that what heroes do? 

The next day he’s at the beach, blindfold in his hand with his eyes closed. He has a full 360 sight range, and things like the mounds of trash, he can see around, but not through -he doesn’t have x-ray - so he isn’t surprised when Toshinori approaches him and jumps on his shoulder. 

“You are back,” he states. 

“I am,” Izuku says, opening his eyes. 

“Are you going to quit training?” 

“No.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I want to help people and this makes it easier for me to do so.” 

“Good answer.” 

If Izuku thought Toshinori would have eased up on the training after that, he was mistaken. If anything, the training only gets harder.  

And for some reason, Izuku could never quite get a good reading on Toshinori. 

* * *

Five days after starting his hell training and Izuku feels like jello, and his legs wobble before he flops onto the sand. 

“Holy Ho-Oh, I’m done!” Izuku says between gasps. “And, I’m still alive! Never again, Toshinori. Next time you offer a reward in exchange for tougher training, remind me of this moment.” 

“It was a good motivator though,” Toshinori says, peering down at him. “Now get up. You still have to tell your mother you have tickets and… you need to shower.” 

Izuku groans. 

Toshinori taps a paw to his face, and Izuku scrunched his nose, squinting his eyes open. 

“Come on kid. You did all that training, and now that it is over you do not want to claim your prize?” 

“You know, I half expected the tickets to be a trick. I didn’t really think you had them,” Izuku says. 

Toshinori looked insulted. “I would never resort to such trickery.” 

Izuku snorted then grinned, throwing his arms up. “Carry me.” He never expected Toshinori to comply. 

* * *

Toshinori picks the two Midoriya’s up an hour before the first event. He’s illusioned as a tall blonde man that Izuku never saw before, but with the same clothes that he usually wears when transformed into Izuku, and around his neck is his copy of All Might’s Pokeball on proud display.

The Pokemon, also, apparently, _drives._

“You own a truck?” 

“Yes…?” 

Izuku doesn’t ask how. It just isn’t worth the headache. Instead, he opens the front door for his mom and takes the back seat for himself. 

The two adults - could Toshinori be considered an adult? - get along like an Infernape on fire. 

* * *

They get a spectator’s booth all to themselves. It’s even closer to the stage than the first row of seats, and the entire enclosure is made up of one-way-glass, but when Toshinori hits a button near the door, the glass flickers and the view of the stage disappears. Suddenly it’s like they’re in the middle of the first event, standing right next to the contestants. 

“One of the students made this room,” Toshinori explains as he takes a seat. “If it bothers you, I can cancel out the side walls to get rid of the 3D look.” 

“No, no. This is perfect!” Inko says, and Izuku spots her reaching for her Pokeball. “Do you mind?” she asks looking at Toshinori who blinks. 

“Of course not! The more, the merrier, and we have this whole booth to ourselves. I have a couple of friends that might stop by though.” 

Inko needs no more prompting before she releases Gardevoir who looks around in surprise. 

* * *

The booth is impressive and way better than any 3D movie, Izuku has ever watched, and he can’t help but wonder how Toshinori managed to snag the tickets for this first-class seating. But he pushes the thought away, too focused on what’s going on around him. 

The first event is an obstacle course that takes the water, land and flying types into consideration. Below, was water with only a strip of land that stretched from one side to the other and in the air were floating boulders that acted as small platforms.

The strip of land was maybe two feet wide, and right at the entrance, Izuku could tell that the major problem with going by land would be getting past the other students. That wasn’t to say that the water and flying types had the advantage though. 

There were Pokemon in the water, no doubt there to engage the students in battle, and similarly, there were birds in the sky. 

Izuku glanced at Toshinori who was still disguised as a human. Toshinori would have excelled in this.

He smiled when the fox-man caught his gaze before turning back to the area, taking note of all the students and what Pokemon they had. A lot of them were beginning to battle amongst each other, but a girl with an Esper was floating high enough above the crowd to pass through, but low enough so that she could avoid the flying types. 

Izuku blinked, and suddenly there was ice spreading along the water and a Snow Vulpix running on top of it followed by a boy with two-toned hair and a Fire Vulpix trailing after them with a limp. 

And then out of nowhere, a massive explosion happened on the tiny trail of land, knocking many students into the water and Izuku gasped at the sight of Kaa-chan and his Quilava facing off against Kirishima and his Tyrunt, shouting about “extras” and “get out of my way bastard!” 

In the end, it’s the boy with the two Vulpixes that gets first, followed by Kaa-chan and a purpled haired boy that Izuku didn’t notice, too caught up as he was in everything that was going on around him. 

* * *

There’s a small break between the first event and the second event, and during that time someone knocks on the door which goes translucent and- 

“Holy Shit! It’s All Might’s Lucario!” 

“Language, Izukkun!” 

Izuku’s a babbling mess, and he’s certain that his mother and Toshinori give him concerned looks, but he can tell his mom is just as excited as him and Toshinori… well, he just looks concerned with a hint of amusement as he opens the door for the shiny. He whispers something to the other, and then ushers him in and- 

Holy shit, it’s All Might’s Lucario! All Might’s! Lucario! In all his shiny glory, carrying a bag of popcorn! Looking so casual. Oh-oh Arceus, this is the best day ever! Izuku squeals. 

He pats himself down. He didn’t bring his book with him, but he wants a paw print. Would it be ok to ask for a paw print on his shirt? What about his skin? Oh, but where would he get the ink from, anyway? 

“This is Gran,” Toshinori says. “But you two probably know him as All Might’s partner.” 

Gran? His name was Gran? All Might’s Lucario had a name!? And it was Gran? Did All Might know it? Was he the one who named him? Or was it only a name shared between Pokemon? And what was- 

“Hello,” Gran said with the voice of an elderly man. 

Izuku fainted. 

* * *

He missed the second event but comes around in time for the last. He’s a bit bummed for all of a second before he realizes just who else is in the booth. There’s All Might’s Lucario - which, squeal - but Nighteye is also there and so is Asahi. 

Izuku can’t stop himself from throwing himself at the pup. He’s missed the Growlithe, and it seemed like Asahi missed him too because he’s howling and wiggling, trying to get as much of himself on Izuku as he can, and Izuku laughs. 

“You’ve grown,” Izuku giggles, petting the pup and noting the hard muscle beneath fur. “I’ve missed you so much. Where have you been? Is All Might treating you well? I planned on contacting him about you, but I never had time.” 

“Why did you want to contact All Might about Asahi?” Gran asked. 

Izuku looks up from where he buried his face in Asahi’s fur. “Because Asahi is his Pokemon now,” he said slowly, with eyebrows rising higher when Gran continues to give him a confused look. 

“But Asahi hasn’t been captured,” Gran stated and glanced at Toshinori as if for confirmation. All the Pokemon except Gardevoir looked confused, and Izuku takes this in; feeling apprehensive relief flooding him. 

He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he had to ask. “So All Might isn’t planning on adding Asahi to his team?” 

“No! Of course not!” Gran said. 

“I’ll be right back,” Toshinori interrupted whatever question Izuku had, excusing himself from the room. 

 

* * *

 

Turns out Toshinori asked Gran to babysit Asahi, and after a bit of nudging, Gran revealed that he’d been training the pup and taking him out during his patrols. 

Izuku was jealous of his furry brother, but one look at the disgruntled Growlithe’s face, had Izuku sympathizing with him. Looks like they both had experience with hell training. 

He’s so distracted with catching up with Asahi and asking Gran questions, that he misses the entire third event consisting of battles. He only watches the reward ceremony, and that’s because All Might is there. 

Kaa-chan got first place, followed by the red and white haired boy called Todoroki Shouto, and in third place is that same boy Izuku didn’t notice from the first round called Shinso Hitoshi. 

A little while later Toshinori comes back, but he’s brought someone with him, and Izuku has another episode of fanboying. How does Toshinori know all these important Pokemon? 

Izuku shakes the dwarf-sized Beartic’s paw and swears to himself that he’ll never wash this shirt again. It must be good luck.

“You-you’re UA’s principle! Oh my god, I read all about your sir.” Like about his case of Pokemon abuse and experimentation and how Nedzu fought for his right to being a citizen and getting the same rights as any other human. The Beartic practically started the whole equality thing between humans and Pokemon, and while it still hadn’t taken hold, it was a start. 

“It’s nice to meet you Midoriya-kun. I’ve heard a lot about you from Toshinori. I hear you want to be a hero.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God, I can't believe I'm actually posting a chapter within a week of the last chapter. It is shorter than the other chapters though... by like 2k words but it felt like the perfect place to stop.


	5. Mothers know Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku meets more heroes and Inko has a talk with Toshi.

“Would you like to attend my school?” 

“W-what?” Izuku stutters. He’s been fantasizing about this moment since he decided he wanted to be a hero when he was four. But that was before he went to the wilds and found out why he never got a Pokemon. And now Toshinori was teaching him things that no school ever would and… Izuku wants to say, ‘yes!’ But he doesn’t think he can. 

“Do you want to go to UA?” Nedzu asks again.

Izuku gulps as he answers, “I… I don’t know.” He can’t bring himself to look up when he hears his mother’s startled gasp. Can’t blame her either, really, since going to UA was all he ever talked about and now he’s turning down the opportunity. 

“Toshinori said you might say that,” Nedzu hums. “Your circumstances are unique, however. So even if you don’t want to be a student, I’d like to offer you a pass to enter the school grounds and use our facilities.”   
Izuku jerks back at the gold and green blur being shoved under his nose - too close to see properly - and grabs it on instinct to get a better look.   
He nearly drops it in shock. It’s a Pokedex.

Izuku can’t help but blink dumbly at the rectangular piece of technology. He remembers going to the state building with his mom to get a Pokedex but was told it was against the law since he didn’t have a Pokemon.

“I can’t accept this.” Oh, but he wants to. 

“Consider it your pass onto campus,” Nedzu says as he reaches over and clicks the button on the middle, making it light up. Izuku can’t help but stare in shock. “It already has your information downloaded and a trainer ID number.” 

  
Izuku can’t hold back the tears. 

* * *

Izuku tries hiding his smile behind Asahi’s fur, but he doubts the adults fall for it. Toshinori shows no restraint when he glances at Izuku through the rear-view mirror, and Inko is a constant source of giggling. 

“S-stop,” Izuku whines, making the two adults chuckle. 

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of Izukkun. We’re just happy for you. Right, Toshinori-san?” 

“Your mother’s right, my boy. Nedzu rarely takes an interest in humans and I’ve never known him to give a VIP pass to someone who isn’t a teacher, let alone a student. Plus,” Toshinori says, and oh no. Izuku recognizes that look on his face. “I’m sure Gran and Nedzu deal with fainting and screaming fans all the time.”  

Izuku groans as he slips out his Pokedex and turns it on. He got the chance to scan his mother’s Gardevoir, Gran, Nedzu, Nighteye, and Asahi earlier, but he didn’t get to scan Toshinori yet, so Izuku tries it now. 

It categorized him as human. 

* * *

It’s almost like Asahi was part of the Midoriya household from the very start. The way he seamlessly integrates himself into the lives of Inko and her Gardevoir, eases Izuku’s worry that his furry brother wouldn’t get along with two of the most important figures in his life.

At this point, Asahi’s practically living with him and isn’t just crashing on Izuku’s bed, and nothing can describe the euphoria Izuku feels when he wakes up in the morning with Asahi at his feet.

Even Toshinori seemed to fill in for his missing father. He still had his nomad ways, occasionally disappearing for a couple days before reappearing, and Toshinori never spent the night, but he never failed to brighten Izuku’s day when he was around. Even Inko enjoyed his company.

* * *

Toshi’s about a block away from the beach when he feels a spike of Izuku’s aura. It’s quick, sharp, and explosive, and Toshinori doesn’t waste a second teleporting to the beach.

There’s nothing that indicates a fight, but Izuku’s cradling his arm and Toshinori can see the residual energy around the area and a hole blown into the side of a rusted car.

“Ow…”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.

“There was a reason I told you not to use your Aura on your own,” Toshi says as he makes patting motions on the sand, requesting the boy to sit. Izuku does so, lips pressed into a thin line as he tries to hold his arm still and Toshi looks it over with a critical eye. It isn’t broken, but the entire arm is bruised and burnt up until his shoulder. 

  
This would set them back a bit. Up until this point, Izuku was progressing a lot quicker than Toshi thought he would. Already, he has a good grasp of Aura Sight, and it was only a matter of time before Toshi started teaching him how to manipulate his Aura and create Aura Spheres. But with his arm like this, Toshi was going to put a pause on his training.

“I-I’m sorry,” Izuku mumbles.

Toshi grunts. This was the sort of thing he expected from hatchlings not half grown humans. He’s upset Izuku went behind his back and did this, but if he were honest with himself, he was waiting for something like this to happen. Izuku has a strong will to prove himself and was making amazing progress during hell training, but after the Sports Festival, Toshi decided to cut the kid some slack and stopped directing him in using anything related to Aura. 

  
“Let’s get you to a hospital,” Toshi sighs. 

  
“No!” 

  
“Young Midoriya-“ 

  
“I can’t! Mom works at the hospital. If she sees me there, she’ll worry, and even if she doesn’t see me, Gardevoir will know.” 

  
“She’ll find out either way if you go home with your arm like that,” Toshi pointed out. 

Izuku bit his lip. “C-can’t you heal it?” Toshi gave him a look. Did he look like a Chansey? “I-I mean, you must have copied a healing move right?” 

Well… Yes. But he wasn’t licensed to heal a human. There was a difference between treating a human versus a Pokemon and Toshi wasn’t about to risk healing the kid wrong. The last time he tried healing a human, Nana paid the price.

“Toshinori?” 

  
“Hmm?”

  
“You’re making a weird face.” 

The Zorua shivers, chasing the thoughts of an injured Nana away. “Are you certain you can’t go to the hospital?” Toshi asks.

Izuku shakes his head. “If I did and mom found out, I would have to explain to her how I got this, and I’m not exactly sure how I’ll tell her that it wasn’t a Pokemon that did this. Please, Toshi? Can you heal it?” 

  
“Do you have your Pokedex” Please say no. “We can get Recovery Girl to-“ 

“Recovery GIRL!?” 

“-Heal it.” 

* * *

Izuku doesn’t stop squealing until Toshinori transforms into Latios and Izuku swears he'll pay Toshinori back for all these mini heart attacks.

“Toshi-!”

“Hop on.”

  
“You can’t just- change back!” Izuku presses Toshinori’s head into his chest, trying his best to compress the Pokemon into a smaller form like. “What if someone sees you?” Izuku hisses.

“I suppose they would think I was a legendary.”

Toshinori transforms into a Salamance instead, and Izuku is left hanging off horns.

He huffs, swinging himself over a blue neck. “This isn’t much better,” he scolds. 

“We could walk,” Toshinori offers but he’s already flying. Cheeky fox.

Izuku hides a smile behind the collar of his shirt. He hasn’t flown since Toshinori returned him home. The ride wasn’t quite as smooth as riding on a Ho-Oh, but it was faster than flying on Pidgeot.

Looking over a blue shoulder, Izuku spots a few other fliers making their way across the sky. There’s a pair of Togekiss with a married couple on their back, and Izuku shyly waves when they stare at him. Of course, a pseudo-legendary would garner stares.

He’s certain he can feel vibrations of laughter from the Zorua-turned-Salamance. Izuku ducks behind Toshinori’s neck, trying to hide his face before a voice filters through the buffeting wind.

“Woah, there Listener.”

Boy and Pokemon turn to see everyone’s favorite radio host riding on the back of a mega evolved Pidgeot. “P-Present Mic,” Izuku gapes, “What are you doing here-? I mean, flying? Uh, not that you wouldn’t, but uh-“ Izuku cuts himself off, feeling like an idiot. “Sorry,” he squeaks and Present Mic chuckles.

“It’s cool. Sorry for sneaking up on you! Is this your Salamance?” the blonde asks.

“Oh, this is Toshinori. He’s a friend. Not mine.”

“A friend you say? I’ve never heard of a Salamance being friendly to anyone who wasn’t it’s trainer.”

“To-Toshinori isn’t actually a Salamance,” Izuku chuckles uneasily. “He’s a Zorua.”

“You don’t say,” Present Mic hums. “A Zorua that uses it’s transformation abilities to fly. Can’t say I’ve heard of that before. So, where are you headed to?”

“UA.“

“Are you a student?”

“No-no, but I have a pass to get onto campus,” Izuku explains, knowing that Present Mic was one of the teachers there.

“Oh so you’re the kid Nedzu won’t stop talking about.”

“The principle talks about me?”

“Sure does,” Present Mic shrugs. “Even All Might’s Lucario talks about you when he isn’t pulling pranks on the staff.”

“W-what?”

“So why are you going to UA now? I caught Nedzu complaining that you weren’t putting it into use just the other day.”

“Oh, um…” Izuku shrugs best he could with one arm and looked at his injury.

“Woah! Kid! How did you get that? It looks bad!” Present Mic directs his Pidgeot closer until they’re wing to wing.

“It looks worse than it is,” Izuku tries, but it’s like a switch has been flipped because Present Mic is doing a great impersonation of Toucannon as he directs his Pidgeot to flit around Toshinori, trying to get a better look at his arm and reprimanding him.

“You say you were at the beach? The hospital’s closer! Why are you going all the way to UA? How did you get that? You should know better than to get close to a Pokemon battle. Honestly, if I was your father…”

They get to UA eventually, and Present Mic insists on escorting him right to the Recovery Girl’s door announcing, “I am here!” as he slams the door open.

“To- Hizashi!” Recovery Girl scolded, hand over her chest. “I thought you were All Might! What brings you here? You’re usually so-“ and then she catches sight of Izuku. “Oh dear, what happened?”

“Um…” Izuku hesitates, looking down but Toshinori isn’t there and how is he supposed to explain his injury to Recovery Girl?!

“You!” Recovery Girl shouts, making Izuku jump and Present Mic stumbles back at the cane poking his chest. “Out! Doctor-patient confidentiality… now then, what happened here?”

“Oh, um, I-I d-dropped a c-car on it….”

She fixes him with an unimpressed stare.

“Sonny, I’ve seen a lot of crazy injuries in my time, but this does not match up with a car injury. If I had to guess, I’d say you were Toshi’s boy.” She poked at his arm. “Yup, that’s an Aura burn right there.”

“You know Toshinori?”

“Of course I do! I’m his nurse!”

“O-oh…”

She pushes him to sit on a chair as she putters about the room, opening and closing cabinets, grabbing whatever she needs.

“Aura burns are a tricky thing,” Recovery Girl said, once she had everything needed. “Can’t just use Heal Pulse on them, not when these burns were caused by your own Aura and not someone else’s. That fox did the right thing bringing you here. But don’t worry Sonny, I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

* * *

When Toshinori was four, he was pretending to be a fourteen-year-old boy when a Pokeball came out of nowhere and hit him in the temple. It caused a bit of a panic, but in the end, he was not captured. No one besides Gran and the woman who threw the Pokeball saw, and everything was fine…

Toshi loved Recovery Girl like an overbearing aunt, but if given a choice he’d rather avoid another chucked ball - she loved reliving that moment - and it wasn’t like he was injured.

He silently sent Izuku an apology for leaving him but it would take at least a couple hours to heal his arm, and this was the perfect time to explain a few things to Inko.

He’d thought long and hard about telling Inko about Izuku. The woman probably thought she knew everything there was to know about her son, but she couldn’t possibly know about aura and how Izuku was like a beacon. Or how Izuku was The Chosen One and the Legends surrounding the title. 

Toshi already considered the pros and cons of the conversation, but in the end, the long-term rewards far exceeded the short-term setbacks, and that’s how Toshinori finds himself at the door of the Midoriya household. 

With slight dread, Toshi transforms into the form Inko knows best, all long-legged and spindly arms, and knocks on the door. He doesn’t have to wait long because before he knows it, Inko is blinking up at him. 

“Ah! Toshinori-San! What are you doing here?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you.” 

“Is everything ok?” She asks, ushering him in. “Izuku’s behaving himself, isn’t he? I appreciate all you’re doing for-“

“No-no, everything is fine. It’s nothing like that. Izuku is at UA right now, and I thought this would be the perfect time to talk to you.”

“About Izuku?” She looks like a mother ready to hug their child and never let go.

“Yes, but first I’m afraid I haven’t been honest with you,” he pauses, looking for any sign of betrayal on her face but finding none he takes a breath. “I’m a Pokemon.”

She slaps him.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Inko hides a gasp behind hands.

* * *

Recovery Girl is a goldmine of information. She knows a lot about Aura and isn’t afraid to explain the benefits and consequences of using it. She even gives him a few tips. Like using Aura Sight when he draws on his Aura so that he can see how it flows.

She also tells him a few stories about Toshinori and how that skeletal man he transforms into is actually a human identity with papers and everything. Izuku promises himself he’ll look up Yagi Toshinori when he goes home but for now, Izuku allows her to manipulate his arm as he listens to Recovery Girl’s story about a Lucario who loved pranking his trainer so much, that even it’s trainer gained a slight phobia of his own Pokemon.

* * *

Toshinori drops his illusion, showing Inko that he’s a Zorua. Then he transforms into Izuku, then Inko herself, before settling back into his default form and offering a paw.

“My name is Yagi Toshinori, and I’ve never been a human,” he starts and then proceeds to tell Inko everything concerning Izuku. He leaves nothing out, not even the fact that he’s training Izuku so that one day he’ll have enough control of his aura to catch a Pokemon.

Inko cries for her son, relieved that after all this time she has answers and rages that her little boy might -will- have to save the world one day.

“Thank you Toshinori. Thank you so much,” Inko says, hugging him up and burying her face in his ruff. He can feel the tears. “I’ll forever be in your debt, and I’m sorry, but I need to be selfish. Promise me you’ll protect my son.”

“Of course,” Toshi blinks. Was that ever a question? “Don’t worry, I’ll watch over him.”

Inko gives him a watery smile. “It’s a mother’s job to worry.”

* * *

By the time Recovery Girl fully heals Izuku’s arm, he’s managed to weasel an autograph from her and a paw print from her Blissey.

But then it’s time for him to leave and Toshinori still hasn’t shown up.

“That fox,” Recovery Girl sighs like this is a common occurrence. “Well Sonny, let me call Present Mic. He can give you a tour while you wait for Toshinori to get his head back on. I swear he’d forget even that if it wasn’t attached to him.”

* * *

Because it seems like the right thing to do, Toshi explains a few things about himself too. After all, they’re in this together now, and it’s only fair for comrades to know about each other.

So he tells her about his human identity who went to UA and poses as All Might’s secretary.

“Does All Might know he hired a Pokemon?” Inko has to ask, and Toshinori can’t help the shit eating grin as transforms into the number one hero.

“Hello, citizen!”

That earns himself another slap.

“Oh my god,” Inko stares at her hand. “Holy shit. Oh my god? You-? I-I just slapped A-All Might! Oh- oh my! I’m so sorry!” She bows rapidly.

“It’s alright! Why? Because I’m here!”

Inko hides her face behind her hands, whining. “Arceus, tell me I'm dreaming.”

* * *

Even though he doesn’t want to be a student anymore, Izuku’s still amazed at everything the school has to offer. UA also offers roulette battles, where a student would get a team of random Pokemon to fight with.

“Would you like to battle?” Present Mic asks.

Izuku nods enough to make himself dizzy. “Can we?”

“Sure, thing Listener! Let’s do a 1v1.”

“Ok!” Izuku steps up to see the man enter in a few buttons on a machine that spits out a Pokeball. It doesn’t tell them what Pokemon it was, but Izuku has a feeling it’s a rock type.

“Just press this button here,” Present Mic directs and Izuku does so before taking the Pokeball in careful hands, a bit scared that his Aura would affect the Pokemon inside. “Alright! Let’s battle!” The man releases the Pokemon an Onix with a well-practiced throw, and Izuku follows behind clumsily.

“Pika-pi?”

“Oh, bad draw,” Present Mic says but Izuku’s eyes are on the Pikachu.

“Hey there, w-will you fight for me?” Izuku asks.

“Pikachu!” it nods, and Izuku grins.

“Alright! Use Iron Tail!” Izuku orders but the Pikachu shoots him a bewildered look. “Don’t tell me you don’t know Iron Tail…” Izuku glanced at the looming Onix that hadn’t so much as moved but looks like it was laughing.

“Haha, what a riot. You’ve really never done this before, have you?” Present Mic asks, and Izuku’s about to apologize, but the man waves it off. “It’s no problem Midoriya-kun. You’re in a school after all, the purpose of coming here is to learn. Why don’t you scan that Pikachu with your Pokedex.”

_“Pikachu the electric mouse Pokemon. It stores its electricity in the pouches on its cheeks. This Pikachu knows Agility, Discharge, Thunderbolt, and Thunder.”_

Izuku winces, all those electric moves wouldn’t do any good against Onix.

“Do you want to get another Pokemon?” Present Mic asks.

“Pi-Pikachu!” tiny sparks of electricity escaped from its cheeks as it took offense to Present Mic's words.

“You still want to battle?” Izuku asks, getting a nod. “O-ok then.”

“You sure about that mighty mouse?” Present Mic asks. 

“Pika!”

“Ok then. Let’s make it good, Onix. When you’re ready Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku gulps, knowing that they’ll more than likely lose, but the Pikachu looks like it’s ready to take on the world. Izuku wishes he had that type of confidence.

“Thunderbolt!”

“Get in close and use Bind!”

“Agility!”

“Stealth Rock!”

“Careful where you’re stepping!” Izuku orders. He wants to close his eyes, use Aura Sight to find a weak point, but he holds himself back. Toshinori told him not to use his aura without him, and he learned his lesson that morning. A repeat so soon wouldn't be a good idea. 

“Onix, get in close and use Iron tail-“

“Run up it, Pikachu!”

The Pikachu barely manages to jump onto the glowing tail, tottering the first few steps. This was bad, how was he supposed to defeat an Onix with a Pikachu that didn’t know any offensive moves that would affect it? Izuku bit his lips, remembering a bit of advice from Toshinori that all Pokemon had a weakness, you just had to find it.

“Thunderbolt at its eyes!”

“PIKACHUUUU!”

“Nice try, but even that won’t work. Onix, Dig!”

“Follow it!” Izuku ordered.

“Interesting,” Present Mic said, a smile on his face when Onix dug its way out and Izuku grinned. Due to the rock type’s large size, it couldn’t maneuver the way it wanted to, and with Pikachu right behind it, there was no way for it to attack when underground.

“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt at its eyes again.”

“Iron Tail, Onix!”

“Get in the hole!” A plan started forming in Izuku’s mind. If he could somehow get the Onix to tie itself into a knot, it wouldn’t be able to move. The problem was conveying his plan to the Pikachu without the Onix or Present Mic finding out.

“Rock Tomb and follow it up with Iron Tail.”

“Get out of there!”

Pikachu barely managed to escape the hole before it caves in, but just as it popped out, the Onix swung its tail, slamming into the smaller Pokemon and sending it flying. It was an instant knockout, but all Izuku could think about was the Pikachu meeting an unforgiving wall, so he ran. Catching the Pokemon just in time to cushion the blow.

His vision goes black.

xxx

“A phone call is here! A phone call is here!”

Toshinori startles, stumbling with his phone to get it to stop. “You have a phone?” Inko whispers. 

'I have a car,' Toshi mouths back before speaking into the phone. “H-hello?”

“Toshinori, your boy is just as reckless as you,” Recovery Girl states and Toshi gulps.

“What happened?”

The answering sigh is loud, and Toshi can imagine Recovery Girl tapping her cane on the other side and rolling her eyes. “He saved a Pikachu from slamming into a wall, Toshinori.”

“Is he ok?”

“He’s fine, but even four-year-olds know not to throw themselves at a Pokemon during a battle.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him not to do that,” Toshi says, mouthing, ‘I’ll tell you later,’ when Inko shoots him a questioning look.

“Tell him? Toshinori, you better make sure he doesn’t do it again! This time he cushioned an impact. Next time he might take the blow! I shouldn’t have to tell you what happens when a human tries going up against an actual attack.”

“Alright, got it. I’ll make sure he knows better,” Toshinori says.

“Good, now pick your human up Toshinori. It’s been five hours since you left the poor boy here.”

xxx

Midoriya Inko isn’t a strong woman. She cries a lot and is more clumsy than athletic. But when it comes to Izuku, there’s nothing that she can’t do. So she’ll support him in every possible way she can because that is all she can do.

She’s forever grateful toToshinori for trusting her with this invaluable information. He’s the only person besides Izuku who looks at her like she can actually make a difference and she promises herself that she can and she will, so she starts by opening her home up to the number one hero.

When Toshinori brings Izuku home that night, the boy is nestled between skeletal arms and Asahi is at his heels.

“Where?” Toshinori whispers, gesturing to Izuku.

“The couch should be fine,” Inko says. She would have asked him to put Izuku to bed, but considering her son’s room, she thinks better of it. It wouldn’t do for Toshi to drop Izuku in his shock.

“I’m sorry about this,” Toshinori tries to explain transforming into a normal Zorua with a red-on-black flash. “From what I’ve gathered, Young Midoriya participated in a Pokemon battle and he-“

“It’s alright. Izuku has always been the type to jump to someone’s rescue, and it looks like he’s been healed.” Inko put a thoughtful hand on her cheek. “Anyway, would you two like some dinner?” She looked from him to Asahi and back again.

“I’m not…” Toshinori shakes his head, reconsidering. “Sure, but just something small.”

“Alright,” Inko nods, getting to work. She makes some Pokechow for Gardevoir and Asahi first and sets one bowl on the ground before passing the other to Gardevoir. Then she prepares some Katsudon and divvies it up, setting both plates at the table when she’s done.

Toshinori gives her a confused look from the ground, and she catches him glancing at the plate meant for him, to Izuku, then the bowl Asahi is already licking clean and Inko wonder’s if she’s done something wrong. But Toshinori seems more human than beast, and it wouldn’t feel right if he ate from the ground.

“Would you like some Pokechow instead?” Inko asks but Toshinori is quick to shake his head as he stares at her in wonder. “Well, what are you waiting for then? It’s going to get cold.”

“My apologies.”

He hops onto the high chair, and Inko notes that it’s a little too low for him to reach the table comfortably when he’s in his normal form. But he makes do when he spots the pair of chopstick at his placemat and raises a red eyebrow at it.

Inko nearly apologizes. How careless of her. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to use it, he didn’t have thumbs for heaven’s sake! But not a second later Toshinori’s eyes light up an electric blue and the chopsticks float.

“Itadakimasu!”

xxx

Something fishy is going on with his mom and Toshinori. It started with the frequent dinners with Toshinori.

Izuku remembers trying to get Toshinori to eat, and how much of a battle that was. But now his mom would mumble something too low for him to hear, and Toshinori would slave over the plate until it was empty. It was a miracle! Toucannon would have danced in victory if she saw it.

But that wasn’t the only weird thing.

His mom knew Toshinori was a Pokemon! Izuku felt foolish when he found out. All this time he’s been hiding the fact from his mother, but she knew! And just when did that happen!?

Izuku stares at the sight of Toshinori and Gardevoir walk out of Inko's room followed by the woman herself.

“Izuku honey, close your mouth honey. It’s rude.”

Izuku's mind is slow to catch up with what he's seeing and his mouth runs off without him thinking. “Arceus, you didn’t capture him did you!?”

Toshinori coughs up blood and Inko shakes her head. “Of course not! Where did you get that idea?”

“Then why was he in your room!?”

“Calm down Izukkun, I didn’t catch him I promise. Toshi just spent the night over.”

“In _your_ room?” Izuku stressed. Why couldn’t Toshinori spend the night in _his_ room? And did she just call him by a nickname?

  
“It gets colds in the living room at night, you know that. And his hollow is at least half an hour away.”

Izuku has another moment where his mouth runs off without his brain. “You two aren’t dating right?” It catches up the moment the word's leave his mouth but by then it's too late.

“Of course not!” Inko states just as Toshinori finally stops coughing long enough to poof into Izuku’s exact copy and slaps his head.

“Prince of nonsense is what you are! Do I look like a Ditto to you!?” Toshinori wears a disgusted look that Izuku has never had the pleasure of seeing on his own face before. If that’s really how he looks like, then it’s no wonder people can read him so easily. “Let me assure you, I am not one of those deviants… disgusting… vile…” Toshinori stomps off like an angry teenager.

“I didn’t mean to…”

“No matter how human he may act, Toshi is a Pokemon, Izuku. Him sleeping on the corner of anyone’s bed is no different than when Asahi sleeps with you. I can’t tell you the number of times I caught your father sharing a bed with his Charizard.” Inko rolls her eyes. “Your imagination is a beautiful thing Izuku, but… you should be able to tell when something is possible or not.” She walks down the hall, leaving Izuku thoroughly chastised. He knew all that, what he really meant to say was that they were really chummy with each other. 

Sighing, he retreats to his room, self-exiling himself from the kitchen. “I still think there’s something weird going on,” Izuku grumbles. “They’re way too friendly, right Asahi?”

“Growlithe.”

“Thanks buddy, I knew you were on my side,” Izuku scratches the pup behind the ears. “Why don’t we do some research.” Izuku pulls out his laptop and types in ‘yagi toshinori’ in Romaji. He’d have to ask what Kanji Toshinori used to spell his name later, but for now, this would do.

There are a lot more results than he expected but he never expected this to be easy. Inwardly shrugging, he scrolls through the results until something catches his eyes and he clicks on the site that leads him to an old forum.

TotallyNotAllMightsStalker: Hey, anyone else seen this dude? He says his name is Yagi Toshinori. I swear this is the fifth time I’ve run into him while I’m researching.

 _ **AllMightSquad:**_ You mean stalking All Might. Well, I don’t recognize him at all.

 ** _HeroFromTheFuture:_** I’ve seen him before. Nice guy, likes to help the homeless. Sort of questionable though. He’s always at one of All Might’s scenes.

 ** _@[Deleted Account]:_** [deleted]

 ** _AllMightSquad:_** @[Deleted Account], you crazy man.

 ** _TotallyNotAllMightsStalker:_** Holy shit, he was right! Guys we’re being hacked!

Izuku frowned, wishing he could have read the deleted comment and he clicks on the link to the picture, but surprise-surprise, that was deleted too.

This was interesting though, and Izuku wonders how many Yagi Toshinori’s would be following All Might, so he goes back to the search bar and types “Yagi Toshinori and All Might.”

There are fewer results than his first search and still no pictures. From what he’s read there’s a whole conspiracy about this Yagi guy and Izuku can’t help but wonder why he’s never heard about it. It’s hard finding solid facts though, and the only clear thing Izuku has learned was that this Yagi always popped up wherever All Might was. Everything else was deleted, and it looked like only those in the know, would know what was going on.

Running a hand through his hair, Izuku decided to change his filters. Making it so that the newest post was at the top instead of basing it off hits. Maybe if he could read the forums before they got deleted, he could get a better understanding.

Someone knocks on his door, pulling Izuku away from his research. “Yes?”

The door creaks open. “Asahi, we best get going,” Toshinori says. He’s still transformed into Izuku but Izuku has never fully mastered the art of one-brow-raises, and Toshinori’s doing just that. “I’ll see in the evening, my boy.”

“Wait!” Izuku stands up so quickly that his chair topples over. “I’m sorry.”

“My boy, there’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“But I…”

Toshinori chuckles, striding over to him and it’s the weirdest thing getting a hair ruffle from his clone. “Trust me. If I were mad, you would know. Now then, Asahi and I need to get going. Gran’s waiting for him, and I can’t spend my entire day here.”

On a split second decision, Izuku asks, “can I go with you?”

  
“To UA?”

Izuku nods.

“As long as you bring your Pokedex, I don’t see why not. But I won’t be able to stay with you. Asahi and Gran might be able to keep you company though.”

“That’s fine!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lovely sketch is by Eagle50. Really can't thank them enough!
> 
> That last section made me cringe. I actually posted this chapter then took it down 10 minutes later... and now it's up again and I haven't changed a thing. I totally blame all the Toshinko fics for this. I mean seriously, they make such a cute couple, and if Toshi wasn't a Pokemon in this story, they'd end up together. But alas! It's not to be! 
> 
> So who else is excited for the Let's Go Pokemon games coming out this Friday? I know I am! I've been set on getting Let's Go Pikachu since I first heard about the games, but now I'm having second thoughts. 
> 
> Also, I need help. I've been having some difficulties deciding what Pokemon the students and staff of UA should have. If you have any ideas, I'm all ears. I'd pay you for your ideas if I could. Seriously. 
> 
> So let's see what I've got so far: 
> 
> Inko- Gardevoir  
> Recovery Girl- Blissey  
> Present Mic- Pidgeot  
> Bakugou- Quilava  
> Kirishima- Tyrunt  
> Ochako- Esper  
> Todoroki Shouto- Ice and Fire Vulpix
> 
> and for the humans turned pokemon we've got:  
> Toshi-Zorua  
> Nighteye- Rotom  
> Nedzu- Beartic  
> Gran Torino- Lucario
> 
> o.O these lists look a lot shorter than I thought they would. You see? I'm in need in of desperate help.
> 
> ...But let me brainstorm here for a second. None of this is official yet, and it's just what comes to mind but:
> 
> Aizawa should get a Litten, because CATS. But he's a pro-hero so he needs something stronger too. 
> 
> Iieda, Asui, Momo, and Shinshou have all been mentioned as humans in this story, so they can't be Pokemon but they can have Pokemon...
> 
> But Iieda is a special case. I used his hero name Ingenium in one of the chapters, so I could have been referring to either his brother or him. So maybe He could be a Pokemon. Or his brother could be his pokemon? Penny for your thoughts?
> 
> I feel like giving Momo a Ditto. But Toshi hates Ditto's since they steal his m.o, you know?


	6. Friend

Being in a class for Pokemon taught by a Pokemon, is perhaps the most surreal thing Izuku has ever experienced. The class is held in the middle of the forest that is on the outskirts of UA’s campus, and Izuku seats himself at the edge of the clearing as the Pokemon get comfortable.

A few of the flying types perch themselves on trees, and the water types gathered near a small pond while the rock and fire types stay far away and right in the middle stands Gran. 

Izuku feels a twinge of pity for the Lucario who was getting more irritated by the second. The Poke-students behaved much like a class full of rowdy students. Kaachan’s Quilava was clearly trying to pull something on its teacher while the rest of the class were either staring at Gran with stars in their eyes or trying to get Gran’s attention. 

The only one who wasn’t interested in the chatter going on was Asahi. Then again, Izuku suspected that Asahi was the youngest out of all the Pokemon here and probably wasn’t very interested in Gran or being taught anything at all.

Izuku ran his fingers through Asahi’s fur. They were sitting at the very edge of the clearing and Izuku took the time to admire the Pokemon there. There were twenty in total, and a handful of them were already evolved like the Snorlax and Ariados. There were also a few that had three evolutions and were already on their second evolution.

It was impressive, and Izuku couldn’t help the spike of jealousy he felt for their trainers. They must have been proud. 

“Growlithe?” A wet nose nudges his hand.

“I’m alright,” Izuku mumbled, looking down at the pup and smiling. 

“Lucario! Rio!” 

Izuku’s head snapped up at the snarl that escapes from Gran, making the entire clearing go silent. 

“Wish I could understand what he’s saying,” Izuku grumbled as Gran continues with whatever he’s saying. He sounds mad, Izuku notes, definitely irritated that the class is more focused on getting Gran’s attention rather than trying to understand what he’s trying to teach. 

Izuku would like to say that he would have been better off than this class of Pokemon, but considering Izuku’s freakout when he met Gran, Izuku can’t really say anything. Plus if he were to ever meet All Might… well, Izuku wouldn’t be calm that’s for sure. 

He’s so caught up in his fantasy of meeting All Might that he doesn’t notice the eyes on him until a small explosion goes off and Izuku snaps to attention.

“Um… h-hello?” Izuku wearily eyes the Pokemon around him, lingering on Quilava before glancing at Gran, hoping for an explanation. 

Gran huffs, “you’re a criminal running away from a bunch of hero Pokemon,” he says. “You have a team of six, which of these hatchlings would you want on your team?” The shiny waves his arm across the clearing. 

“B-but I don’t want to be a villain.“ 

“Gaki, it’s a what-if scenario! If you want to be a part of my class, then you need to participate as well.” 

Part of his class? Izuku stares, hand stilling from where he still has his fingers in Asahi’s fur. 

“Oh- um, well…” Izuku takes a moment to look at all the Pokemon there. He knows all their strengths and weaknesses, and for a moment Izuku is tempted to take all the evolved Pokemon since they were usually stronger, but the goal is to get away, and Izuku doesn’t think a Snorlax can run very fast.

“Come on kid, I ain’t got all day.”

“If my objective was to get away then Ariados, Skarmory, Noibat… um, Espurr and uh, Tyrunt?”

“And your sixth?” 

Izuku looked down, patting Asahi’s head. Izuku would always choose Asahi.

“Good, the seven of you are a team,” Gran says with a spark of approval in his eyes. “Let’s head to the practice area to get this show on the road.” 

Wait, was Izuku actually participating?

Was he the villain? 

* * *

They go to the fake city. There’s several loud complaints, but Gran is quick to snap at them to be quiet as he explains the mission before releasing Izuku and his chosen partners into the city, giving them a slight head start. The ‘hero-pokemon’ will enter the city in approximately five minutes, and it’s precious time that Izuku should spend trying to put as much distance between the gate and him as possible.

But Izuku stops once the steel gates close behind him and his partners run a little distance away until they notice that he isn’t running with them.

“Skarmory?!” 

“Espurr?” 

“Ariados, use String-shot on the gates,” Izuku orders as he takes out his Pokedex to scan the Pokemon. “Skarmory use Spikes. Tyrunt, Stealth Rock. Ariados-“ Izuku cuts off, looking away from his Dex. None of them are listening to him. “Guys?” Izuku feels dread pooling in his gut. Memories of being bullied by other children and their Pokemon comes to mind. They’ve already wasted a minute of their head start, and Izuku gulps.

“Guys, please. I have a plan, we just have to slow them down.” 

Izuku has to force himself not to sob when the Skarmory flies away and perches itself on a building. It looks down on him as if saying, _‘go on, I’ll watch you but I have no intention of helping you.’_

“A-Ariados?” Izuku pleads, but not even the spider will listen. Izuku can feel the seconds tick by and he hardens his resolve. “Tyrunt, will you help me?”

“Tyrunt,” the dinosaur nods using Stealth Rock at the entrance. 

“Thank you,” Izuku sobs, but forces himself to run.

* * *

Izuku lost. No surprise there. He always loses. Though it would have been possible to win if the other half of his chosen team had listened to him from the start.

Tyrunt and Espurr were surprisingly helpful while the Skarmory, Ariados, and Noibat were not. Those three only started helping when it looked like he might actually make it to the other side of the city. But of course, he got caught right at the exit. 

Izuku sniffs. He really thought he had a chance. 

“Alright listen up zygotes!” Gran barks. “This human is in our class now, so if any of you have a problem with him, you come to me. Part of being a hero is working in a team. Sometimes that means working with others that you don’t want to, but that’s too bad. Deal with it! Now get into your pairs and start sparring! Izuku, Asahi, with me.” The Lucario motions to one edge of the clearing and Izuku follows.

He doesn’t get the courage to speak until they stop and Izuku gulps. Did he do something wrong? But that couldn’t be it. Gran actually said that he was part of the class now. A tiny part of Izuku feels warm at the thought. 

“Show me your stance,” Gran is the first to speak. 

“Stance?” Izuku repeats. 

Gran glares up at him. “Don’t tell me that idiot didn’t teach you a proper stance?” 

“Huh?”

“You know? A stance… Like when you’re about to fight…” 

Izuku shakes his head. No. He doesn’t know.

“Kata’s?” 

“What’s that?” 

Gran squints at him. “What did Toshinori teach you?” 

“Aura Sight,” Izuku answers and Gran blinks waiting for him to add something else. “Um, that’s it..?” 

“He taught you Aura Sight, but he didn’t teach you any Kata’s?” Gran deadpans. 

“Yes.” 

“I’ve raised an idiot,” Gran groans, rubbing his forehead with a paw. “Alright, it’s time you learn how to defend yourself. Copy me.” 

* * *

“You lost?” Toshinori repeats, a floating document lowers just a fraction to allow the Zorua a clear view of Izuku.

“Yeah,” Izuku nods. He’s disappointed in himself, he should have done better. Could have chosen better. Made different decisions. Run from the start… 

“Did you learn something from it?” 

“Huh?” 

“Did you learn anything from the loss?” 

_Yeah. Not to choose crappy teammates._ But Izuku doesn’t think that would be an appropriate answer, so he nods instead. 

“Those who win don’t always grow, but those who lose are better for it.” The document floats back up followed by a long sigh and mumbled curses.

“Is something wrong?” Izuku asks. 

“Paperwork,” Toshinori replies crisply, and Izuku decides it’s probably best to leave the irate Pokemon alone when Toshinori adds, “is the evilest thing to ever exist.” 

“Do you want to take a break?” 

“Arceus, yes,” it sounds like a relieved sob. Izuku knows the feeling.

Izuku has no idea what Toshinori is working on, and he isn’t about to offer his help, but he’s willing to be a distraction if that’s what Toshinori needs so he brings up the one thing that’s been on his mind since Toshinori first started training him: “I was wondering if you could teach me more about controlling my aura.” 

Documents neatly settle into a stack on the coffee table and Toshinori leaps from the couch, already by the front door. “Let’s go to the beach. Bring your gloves.” 

“Gloves? What gloves?” 

“The ones Nighteye gave you.”

“O-ooh.” Izuku completely forgot about those. Between learning about Aura Sight and receiving his Pokedex, he never actually used the gloves. 

 

* * *

They train late into the night and early morning. It’s partially Izuku’s fault; he has a lot of questions, and he wants to learn as much as he can, but the majority of the blame falls on Toshinori.

Complaints about sore limbs are met with a “no pain, no gain.” While commenting about the time leads to a quick phone call to Izuku’s mother saying that they’ll be out late. After that, Toshinori lays on the praise until Izuku doesn’t want to take a break anymore. There’s finally someone who believes in him, and Izuku would be damned if he showed Toshinori that he wasn’t worth his time. 

So Izuku swallows his whines until his feet begin to feel like pincushions from standing too long, and his hands feel raw. 

“Sit down,” Toshinori suddenly orders and Izuku collapses onto the sand. He didn’t know sitting could ever feel so good! “Let's try this one more time, but this time take off those gloves.” 

Izuku sees Toshinori nod when he pulls off the red gloves, and Izuku takes a breath and closes his eyes. 

Toshinori walks him through it. “Open your Aura Sight. Take in the particles around you, the way your breath moves them… In… Out… Good, keep breathing. Now watch the Aura flowing within you… Breath… In… Out… Don’t rush, my boy.” 

Izuku feels large hands on his wrists, moving his arms until they’re resting on his crossed knees. 

“Open your hands, keep your eyes closed, Sight open, keep breathing. Steady now.” 

There is no warning for the blazing wall of fire that engulfs Izuku’s Aura Sight before tapering off.And then there’s a ball of aura floating between his hands and Izuku snaps his eyes open because he has to see this. It’s yellow and blue, and only the size of a tennis ball, but it’s warm and feels like Toshinori.

“Congratulations, Young Midoriya,” Toshinori says. “You’re using part of my Aura right now, but it’s no less an achievement. Keep your breathing up, my boy. Don’t stop,” he praises and scolds at the same time. “Now the goal is to get this tennis ball to the size of a basketball.” 

“H-how?” Izuku stutters quietly, afraid that if he speaks too loud or breaths too much the tiny ball of aura will disappear. 

“Add a little bit of your aura to it,” Toshinori answers as he transforms into a carbon copy of Izuku and mirrors his position, complete with his own ball of aura.

Toshinori is usually invisible to Izuku’s Aura Sight. He isn’t like an inanimate object that breaks the flow of Aura particles and he isn’t like the other Pokemon or humans that have Aura within them. Instead, it’s like Toshinori doesn’t exist and when he does decide to flare his aura it’s always just a trickle but this time there’s no holding back the wave of Aura that comes from Toshinori. It covers a radius of several miles out, and almost past the range of Izuku’s Sight. 

“Oops. Sorry. Sorry.” The Aura recedes into the black hole that is Toshinori and Izuku feels like the lights were suddenly turned off. “I’m a bit excited for you,” Toshinori admits, seemingly not noticing Izuku’s lost expression. “Now, just watch the way I move my Aura and mimic it with yours.” 

Toshinori’s aura is the standard blue that the majority of Pokemon have, but there’s also yellow mixed in. It doesn’t quite blend into green, but the colors are there and mingle together. It’s also sluggish at his core but fast at the palms of his hands, and that’s what Izuku aims for. 

The ball between his hands grow and turns green. 

“Nicely done, my boy!” Toshinori praises and Izuku looks up to see his own face smiling at him as Toshinori leans over and basically grabs the floating ball of aura so that he now holds two. “I’ll show you the basics of throwing your Aura Sphere and then I’ll take you home. But first, put on your gloves. It’ll make it harder since it suppresses the flow of your Aura, but it’ll keep you from burning yourself.” 

* * *

Izuku is a quick study. He’s not as fast as a Pokemon who can learn and grow at exponential rates, but he learns faster than Toshi gave him credit for. In one day, the boy learned how to expand an Aura Sphere and throw it. Izuku is still having a little trouble with the starting process of creating his own, but Toshi is sure he’ll have it down by the end of the week.

Toshi whistles, watching an Aura Sphere hurtle into the horizon. “Well done, my boy,” Toshi praises. “I think that’s it for tonight. It’s getting late.”

“Late? Toshinori, the sun’s already out.” 

Toshi shoots him a sheepish smile. “I’ll walk you home before my class starts.” 

“Wait. What?” Izuku gapes at him. 

“I’ll walk you home. No dillydallying, let's go.” 

“No, no, no. I mean- did you just say… you have a class? Are you a teacher?” 

“Hmm? Yes?” Was that a problem? Toshi glances at Izuku who was several paces behind with a shocked look on his face. Oh. That’s right, Toshi never did tell Izuku about his teacher status. 

“You’re a teacher!?”

Toshi nods.

“What class do you teach? It’s not the hero class’s Pokemon. Gran’s already teaching them. So then are you teaching the support Pokemon or the General? Or maybe you’re teaching the upper classmen's Pokemon.”

“Geez kid, slow the engines.” 

“BUT YOU TEACH AT UA!” 

“It’s not really a big deal. Your mother knows,” Toshi admits. 

“What?” 

Toshi shrugs. He doesn’t get why Izuku is freaking out over this tiny fact.

“Why don’t we play a game,” Toshi says. “If you find out what class I teach, I’ll personally introduce you to All Might.” 

“WHAT!?” 

“-and if you don’t, I’ll toughen your training regimen.”

Izuku boggled.

“So do we have a deal?” Toshi asks. 

“How long do I have to figure out what class you teach?”

“Until the end of the school year.”

Izuku whoops, grin dividing his face when it suddenly drops and Izuku regards him with suspicion. “What if I meet All Might before then?” 

That… hmm, that’s a good question. Toshi would offer All Might’s autograph, but if Izuku met All Might, he’d certainly ask for an autograph and it hardly seemed fair to deny Izuku a signature when All Might always gave autographs to fans, and denying Izuku would be out of character for the Number One Hero. 

Toshi tilts his head, considering his options and he’s about to answer when a group of familiar teens barrels their way toward the beach.

“Deku!” Kirishima yells, and Toshi is taken aback by the nickname for a second before remembering that Izuku sometimes goes by it. “Deku, man am I glad to see you. You gotta help us.”

“Are you ok? How can I help?” Izuku asks. 

Toshinori frowns at the boy’s need to help other’s even when he’s got to be tired from training all night, but Izuku seems to have caught a second wind of adrenaline, and even Toshinori is curious as to what his students could want from his boy. Head tilting from one side to the other, Toshi blinks at Jiro Kyoka and Uraraka Ochaco. 

“I’m fine. We’re fine, but we won’t be if we don’t interview you,” Kirishima states.

Ah, homework, Toshi realizes, unimpressed with his student’s tendency to procrastinate. Not that he could say anything considering the papers he’s neglected to do in favor of training Izuku.

“Ok-“ 

“Why are we interviewing this guy?” Jiro asks, removing her earbuds. “He’s the same age as us.” 

“He’s the guy who lived in the wilds for a year with no Pokemon,” Kirishima answered before turning back to Izuku. “So is it ok? We got school in an hour, but I’d rather miss our first class than get an F on this assignment.” 

“I-I don’t m-mind.” Izuku’s embarrassment was palpable. 

“Awesome!” Uraraka squeals. “I’m Uraraka Ochaco, and this is my Espurr. That’s Kyoka Jiro. She has a Noibat. It’s nice to meet you Deku-kun.” 

“A-ah, nice to meet you,” Izuku stutters, nervously shaking hands with the girl before waving his hand in Toshi’s direction. “This is my friend Toshinori.” 

“Oh, he’s so cute, and his eyes are so pretty. He’s a Zorua right?” 

“Y-yeah-“

“Hey, if you guys don’t mind, I’d really like to get this project done,” Jiro interrupts. “So Deku, tell us about your time in the wilds.” 

_“Have we met before?”_

Toshi snaps his eyes away from the teens to look at Espurr. _“Hmm, not officially,”_ he answered in Poke-speech.

_“But we have met?”_ Espurr says, trying to figure out where they met before.

_“We’ve crossed paths. You’re in Gran’s class.”And occasionally you’re my student_ , he doesn’t add.

_“Are you also in Gran’s class?”_

_“No, but I’ve heard that Izuku has joined you hatchlings.”_

_“Yes, he’s really quite unique. Did you know we were teamed up during our last Heroes vs. Villains simulation?_ ” Espurr asks. 

_“Oh? I didn’t know you were on his team. He only told me, he lost,”_ Toshi admits. 

Espurr huffs. _“If it wasn’t for Skarmory, Noibat, and Ariados, we could have won.”_

_“I’m sorry,”_ Toshi says for lack of anything else to say. 

_“Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault-“_ She breaks off when there’s twin flashes of light and Toshi catches the teens commenting about letting the Pokemon socialize. 

_“Don’t blame me for the loss, Esp- You- are you?”_ The Noibat stares at Toshinori and the Zorua can’t help but smile. He’d met the Noibat in the wilds years ago when he saved her and took her to a Poke-Center. It broke his heart when he couldn’t talk to the dragon type as All Might.

_“Hello, you haven’t been falling off any cliffs lately, have you?”_ Toshi teased. He wasn’t prepared for the headbutt or the leathery wings that wrapped themselves around his head and coughs, gasping.

_“It_ is _you!”_ Noibat screeched before a red light enveloped her and Izuku scoops Toshi into his arms, patting him down and running fingers through his fur as Toshi catches his breath.

“I’m so sorry, is he ok?” Jiro questioned. If they didn’t seem so concerned, Toshi would have been upset. 

_“I’m ok. Please let her back out,”_ Toshi said, as he struggled out of Izuku’s grip. 

“Do you want to battle?” Jiro asked. 

Toshi gives her his best, are-you-serious face. This was the problem when trainers didn’t understand Pokemon. 

_“We’re old friends,”_ Toshi grumbles, shaking his head. 

“I think they know each other,” Uraraka says. “Espurr says they’re friends.”

“Really?” Jiro asks, and eyes Toshi oddly. “How do you know my Noibat? I’ve had her since I was four, and I’ve never met you.” 

Toshi tilts his head, wishing he could just talk for himself but turns to Espurr instead, and from there it’s like a game of telephone as the physic type relays his message to Uraraka who then talks to the whole group. 

* * *

Saving a random Pokemon sounds like something Toshinori would do and Izuku isn’t surprised when Noibat clings to the fox. It reminds Izuku of his time in the wilds when all the Pokemon would gather around Toshinori.

There’s just something about the Zorua that attracts other Pokemon to him. It’s actually similar to way Izuku draws Pokemon in, just minus the part where the Pokemon also want to avoid him. 

In the end, Toshinori transforms into a Noivern and flies loops around the beach with Noibat, while Izuku finishes his interview with the other teens. When all is said and done, Izuku gets an apology from the Noibat - translated by Uraraka - and even a promise of being a better partner during team battles. 

Jiro isn’t sure what to make of that, Izuku knows, and the girl even asks, “is this some masterplan to steal my partner?”

“What? No! Of course not,” Izuku promises, and then looks away, his face heating up. “But I would like to be Noibat’s friend, and yours a-and uh- you guy's too, if that’s ok.” He shyly glances at Kirishima and Uraraka and their Pokemon.

“Of course we can be friends!” Uraraka says.

“T-thanks,” Izuku stutters, and has to glance at Toshinori - he made friends! - who tilts his head in confusion but shoots him a grin with a raised eyebrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've accepted that I'm never going to be happy with a chapter. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you all so much for all your Pokemon suggestions! This chapter wouldn't have gotten done if it wasn't for you guys. Hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner since I've jumped over that hurdle with the Pokemon.


	7. The Tournament that Went Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teachers and Izuku try to figure out Toshinori and Aizawa knows more than he lets on. Meanwhile, All Might participates in a tournament that turns a little south and the Midoriya's deal with the fallout.

Weeks pass quickly as they usually do when one is busy. In this time, Izuku has mastered Aura Sphere and can even manipulate his Aura enough to take on different shapes, shifting it from simple balls of energy to Protect-like-shield and even green swords that resembles Gran’s Bone Rush. It isn’t enough though, not if he wants to catch a Pokemon some day. 

He ends up begging for more training in different ways he can use his Aura.

Begging gets him nowhere. It’s a fact that Izuku’s puppy eyes have no effect on Toshinori.

The only thing puppy eyes get him, is Toshinori telling him that breaks are necessary and that he should spend the time building friendships. Going to Gran, gets him the same results but with the added; “why the hell are you asking me? Toshi is your teacher.” 

So Izuku makes friends. There’s Kirishima, Ochako, Jiro, and their Pokemon of course. But after several weeks of attending Gran’s class, Izuku considers all of class 1-A’s Pokemon his friends, and even some of the trainers themselves. Funnily enough, Izuku also considers Present Mic - “call me Hizashi” - a friend, and through him, Izuku meets Aizawa-san and Kayama-san. 

All three of them are teachers, but since he isn’t a student, he gets to see sides of them that he otherwise wouldn’t. 

For example, Hizashi sings in the staff room horribly. He sounds like a screeching Chatot until someone adds music, and Izuku has to repeatedly ask him to lower his volume. Aizawa, on the other hand, is as quiet as a cat until someone takes his coffee. Arceus bless whoever tries to take Aizawa’s coffee. And Kayama… well, there’s a reason she is known as the 18+ Only Hero. 

Izuku gulps, forcing himself to look straight and not down. 

Toshinori had explained earlier that day, that he’d be busy so Izuku decided to spend his day in the teacher’s lounge doing reconnaissance. He loves how he has certain privileges that normal students don’t, but his non-student status is like a neon sign that reads, “I’m innocent, young, and cute” to Kayama. 

“Neh, Izuku-chan,” arms wrap themselves around him and pulls him to Kayama’s chest. “Who’s that Zorua that I see hanging around you sometimes…?” she trails off in a cutie-voice. 

His mind comes to a screeching halt, even as he answers; “Toshinori, he’s my friend.” Because, Toshinori said he’s a teacher, but Kayama didn’t recognize him and come to think of it, Hizashi hadn’t recognized Toshinori when they first met either.

“Is he yours?” 

“No.” Izuku wished people would stop asking him that. “I don’t have any Pokemon.” 

“That’s right. I’m sorry, Izu-chan, it’s just hard to believe sometimes,” Kayama says, pushing him to arm's length to get a better look. After a while she asks, “but if he’s not yours, then who’s is he?” 

“Oh, um- well, I don’t know?” He winces at the lie. He knows Toshinori is wild, but he doesn’t want other people to know, because if they did then what was stopping them from trying to catch the Toshinori? 

“Hmm-“

“Nemuri,” Aizawa interrupts from his sleeping bag. “I know where you’re going with this, so let me assure you, the Zorua isn’t a threat to the students.” 

“Like you’re such a great judge of character,” Kayama sniffs. “I’m just trying to be safe Shouta. This Zorua is an unknown.” Izuku stiffens in her arms. “Sorry-“ 

“Toshinori would never harm anyone,” Izuku states, pushing himself away and taking a step back. “He’s friends with the principle, and Gran, and Recovery Girl knows a lot about him. He isn’t a- a spy or whatever.”

“But, how do you _know_?” she stresses. 

“I just do-“ 

“Nemuri-“ 

“And that’s another thing I don’t get, Shouta,” Kayama says, interrupting Aizawa. “Why are you so accepting of this Toshinori? You’re the most distrustful of us all.” 

Aizawa groans and Izuku watches him flop around a bit and roll over, opening his bloodshot eyes. “The Zorua is on our side. He’s… a teacher.” 

“What!?” Kayama and Hizashi screech. 

“None of the staff has a Zorua,” Hizashi states. “You know how this system works; we teach the students, and our Pokemon teaches their Pokemon. So unless someone caught a Zorua within the last year and trained it up to the point where it could teach other Pokemon, that isn’t possible. Plus, no one has a Zorua!” 

“Shouta, is he your Zorua?” Kayama asked. 

“Of course not. He’s wild. Look, if you have questions, why don’t you just ask him?” 

“He can talk?” Hizashi asks while at the same time Kayama says, “that’s the third one.”

“There’s four talking Pokemon,” Izuku can’t help but mumble. “There’s a Rotom too.” 

“Holy sh-“

“Language!”

“Aizawa-san, can you tell us what class he teaches?” Izuku asks, because why the hell not? He has a bet to win. 

“No.” 

“But-“ 

“Ask him yourself.” 

* * *

If there was one thing Toshi didn’t enjoy, it was tournaments. Mostly because people accused him of being unfair for using the Strongest Pokemon in the World, but also because the whole 1 vs. 6 thing was getting tiresome to explain.

If people had so many problems with All Might having only one Pokemon and battling with The Strongest Pokemon in the World, then they should just stop scheduling him for these tournaments. 

Toshi would much rather be spending the day with his students or Izuku, but these yearly tournaments were important in measuring trainer’s abilities, and it was seen as a sign of goodwill for a Hero to battle the top three winners. 

Toshi takes a breath, then another then transforms into All Might. The scar at his side tugs uncomfortably and he fears for the day when maintaining large transformations like this will no longer be in his grasp.

“You don’t have to come too you know,” Gran says. “I can battle by myself.” 

“But that’s rude,” All Might says. “This is supposed to be a battle between trainers and their Pokemon, and how would it look if All Might wasn’t there? They might think they weren’t being taken seriously.” 

“It isn’t like you give me orders anyway,” Gran huffs with an eye roll. 

“Would you listen if I did?”

“Don’t get cheeky with me kit! I can still beat your ass!” 

All Might forces a smile, but it’s more of a grimace. “Shall we go?”

Gran snorts and is the first to leave the provided room, leaving All Might to trail after him. He only catches up when a few officials take notice and start whispering, waving and grinning at him.

They reach the middle of the stadium in no time at all, and as soon as they step onto the field, the crowd erupts into cheers and chant his name.

Putting on his best smile, All Might punches his fist into the air in his signature victory pose as he walks to the middle of the field to meet the winners.

He recognizes two of them. One is an up and coming hero known as Mt. Lady, the other is the older brother of one of his students, Iida Tensei, also known as Ingenium. The last is a young woman with golden eyes and blond hair, tied into two buns at the sides of her head.

“Congratulations on making it through the tournament!” All Might booms, shaking their hands.

“Iida Tensei. It’s nice to meet you, sir!”

“Mt. Lady, but you can just call me Yu.”

“Hello! I’m Toga. Himiko. And I’m going to catch you!” the other blonde introduced with a smile that makes All Might shiver. Catch him? 

“I wish you luck, Toga-san. Iida-san, Yu-chan,” All Might nods to each in turn. “How would you like to break up our battles? We could go from third to first place-“

“Boooooring~” Toga sings. “I want to go first.”

“Is that ok with you two?” All Might asks, looking at the other’s who nodded. “Alright, looks like you’ve got yourself a battle, Young Toga.” He walks to his designated part of the field, but not before he catches Gran’s look.

**“Gran?”** All Might says, opening his mind to telepathy. 

**“Something’s not right. Her Aura is vile.”**

All Might briefly closes his eyes, and when he next opens them the world is overlapped in blues and whites. Toga’s Aura looks sickly. Not like she’s sick, but like she’s sickness itself. 

**“Let’s not raise a commotion. We’ll alert the authorities after our matches.”**

**“We are the authorities,”** Gran grumbles.

**“That doesn’t mean we should alert the audience to a villain, and there are enough heroes here to stop her if anything happens.”**

Gran huffs over their connection before the buzzer goes off, and All Might confidently smiles, putting on a show for the crowd. 

“Lucario, the stage is yours,” All Might says, letting everyone know that he won’t be giving Gran any commands. 

“You’ll regret that, All Might. Your Lucario will need all the help he can get. Gengar, let’s go! Will-O-Wisp.” 

Gran dodges it and lets the Gengar attempt several more attacks before going in with a swift Bone Rush, ending it quickly. There’s a brief curse from Toga before she sends out her next Pokemon, but Gran is way too strong and only gets a small scratch before Toga is down to her last Pokemon. 

A Ditto. 

Of course. 

All Might twitches, they’re disgusting. He has yet to meet a decent Ditto. 

He can’t entirely refrain his sigh when all the Ditto does is mirror Gran’s moves, but then his eyes widen because that shouldn’t be right. If Gran goes in for a hit, that’s it. He’s known for his one hit knockouts, so the fact that the Ditto is going toe to toe with the Lucario is wrong.

Gran twists, throwing an Aura Sphere as he dodges the same attack, then goes in with a Bone Rush, landing a hit, except it’s like hitting water. 

Physical attacks aren’t working All Might realizes and wonders if Gran notices too.

The Ditto Counters another Bone Rush and Gran is forced to retreat a few paces before sprinting back in, throwing one Aura Sphere ahead while he holds another Sphere in one paw and an Aura Bone in the other. The first attack is dodged, but the Ditto gets hit with the next Aura Sphere, splattering all over the field. 

It’s far from done, however, because the Ditto pulls itself back together in a cruel parody of Gran that towers over the Lucario. 

“Now Ditto, hold it!” 

The Ditto’s form collapses until it’s just a pink wave of sludge that sticks to Gran, and before All Might knows it, a Pokeball is being thrown. But it’s not any Pokeball, it’s the type that only officers of law can hold to contain already captured Pokemon.

All Might hisses when the mental link he has with Gran snaps.

“You’re making a mistake, Young Toga.” 

“Mistake? No, no, no! I’m doing exactly what I want to,” Toga smiles, her face flushed with excitement. “I just have one more thing to do.” 

“And that is?” 

“Capture you!” Another Pokeball is thrown, this time at him and he whacks it aside. His heart roaring in his ears.

She knows he isn’t human. 

Blue-on-black eyes meet gold, and all Toshi can do is shiver at the smile she sends his way.

By now, some of the other Heroes have released their Pokemon to help and All Might forces his eyes away, racing forward as the Ditto begins transforming into something with wings, the Pokeball with Gran clutched in its talons. 

Like hell, were they going to Pokenap Gran!

A bit of Aura pumps through his legs, and he tackles the Ditto, turning it into goo before they both make a mad scramble for the Pokeball.

All Might grabs it first, madly jamming his thumb into the release button but it doesn’t give. Temporarily shocked at his failure, he only just realizes the Ditto seeping through his fingers and around the Pokeball, and all All Might can think is _burn, burn, burn, get away!_ As he forces his Aura into the palms of his hand and works his psychic ability to peel the Ditto off.

“How. Dare. You,” All Might growls, flinging the Ditto away, punching it as hard as he can. 

“All Might!” Ingenium runs up to him. “Are you ok, sir?” 

“I’m fine, thank you,” All Might answers, glancing across the field to where Toga should be, but she’s gone. He growls, turning back to the Pokeball to release his friend. It remains shut. “Shit.”

* * *

Toshi wastes no time getting back to UA and practically storms down the halls to Nezu’s office.

The Beartic jumps along with Recovery Girl when he rips the door off its hinges.

“Toshinori!” Nezu hisses, fur puffing out under his suit but one look at the Zorua’s troubled face has him concerned. “What’s wrong?” 

“Dark Ball. It won’t open,” Toshi says, dropping the ball onto Nedzu’s desk. Originally it was created by an old organization called Team Rocket, and now the police, heroes, and sometimes hospitals, used it to contain berserk or villain Pokemon.

“Who’s-“ 

“Gran,” Toshi interrupted, he shook his head but it quickly became a full body shake, and his lung ached. He couldn’t- he couldn’t breathe. “I-I can’t open it,” he said again, gasping and suddenly struggling to stay standing. 

“Toshi,” Someone is suddenly beside him- Recovery Girl. “You need to calm down.”

He shakes his head. “Gran…”

“It won’t open,” Nezu states the obvious and Toshi’s breath hitches. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out. Being in here won’t harm him. In the meantime, why don’t you go back to Midoriya-kun and Asahi?” 

“No,” Toshi shakes his head and his vision goes black for a minute, but he talks through it. “That girl, Toga Himiko, she knows I’m a Pokemon. She threw a Dark Ball at me. I might put them at risk if I’m seen with them.” 

“Or they might already be at risk,” Nezu points out. “We don’t know if this Toga was after you and Gran because you’re All Might, or if they were after you because of your connection to Izuku.” 

“But no one should know he’s the Chosen One!” 

“The Pokemon know, and what if _He’s_ involved?” Nezu asks.

“Shit-“

“Or,” Recovery Girl breaks in, shooting Nezu a look. “Maybe you’re both thinking the worst. Maybe this girl is just insane and went after you and Gran because you’re the strongest team out there. Maybe this has nothing to do with Midoriya-kun or _Him_.” 

“The chances of that being the case is highly unlikely given the-“

“Principle, shouldn’t you be looking for ways to break Gran out of the Dark Ball?” Recovery Girl asks silkily.

“Ah… I suppose…” Nezu stands, taking the Dark Ball with him, leaving the office. 

Toshi almost stops him. This is new territory for him. Ever since he could remember, he could always sense Gran, but with the Dark Ball it was like Gran was gone. It felt like Nana all over again. 

“Alright, let’s find Midoriya-kun,” Recovery Girl says, scooping him up and cradling him, smoothing down his fur. 

* * *

Izuku gasps as soon as he sees Recovery Girl carrying Toshinori, his mind automatically thinking the worse.

“What happened? Is he ok?” Izuku whispers, rushing up to the elderly hero. 

The Zorua is snoozing in her arms, but his usually smooth fur is ruffled and the tufts on his head are messier than usual, drooping into his face instead of sticking up like an extra pair of ears. 

“There was an incident at the tournament today. I think he’s had a little too much excitement for the day. He’ll be fine after a bit of rest.” 

Carefully, Izuku takes Toshinori from Recovery Girl, and the Zorua briefly wakes up, blearily looking around then up at Izuku before settling down and closing his eyes again. It worries Izuku more than it should. Toshinori has always shown displeasure when being carried like this, preferring to sit on Izuku’s shoulder or head.

“Did something bad happen?” Izuku asks. 

Recovery Girl sighs. “All Might’s first battle was against a villain. She threw a Dark Ball at Gran. All Might tried releasing him, but the ball won’t open. Nezu is working on it.” 

“That’s… that’s horrible. Will Gran be ok?” 

“Of course. Don’t worry about that Sonny. We’ve already got one worry wart here,” she points at Toshinori. 

Izuku chuckles but doesn’t find it particularly funny.

“Growlithe?”

Izuku looks down. “Hey buddy, Toshinori will be ok.” He looks back to Recovery Girl then the other teachers in the room. “Bye guys. We should really go home.” 

“Want a ride?” Present Mic asks. 

“You can’t offer him a ride,” Aizawa grumbles. “Pigeot can’t transport all four of you. It wouldn’t be safe. I’ll drop you off, kid. I have a car.”

“Thank you,” Izuku bows to the man who hops to the coffee maker, still in his sleeping bag. 

“Don’t mention it." 

* * *

Aizawa rolls down the window, calling after him. “Hey kid, if you want to join Class 1-A you’re more than welcome. I have a feeling Gran’s going to need a substitute for a week when he comes back.”

* * *

Inko knew about the Tournament before the boys returned home. She also knew that Toshi wouldn’t get a good night’s rest in Izuku’s room since the boy was like an Octillery in bed, so she instructed Izuku to lay the fox down in her room.

She never expected to be shoved off her bed the next morning, but she really should have.

Inko woke with a yelp, wrestling with her blankets and heartbeat spiking at the ominous growl and dark presence that blanketed her room.

“Toshi?” She tries, peering at the bristling Zorua on her bed. 

As a nurse she recognized the situation she was in, and given everything Toshi has told her, she should have known that he considered Gran a member of his pack and probably looked up to him as a parental figure. 

It’s always sad to see a Pokemon like this because it usually means that their trainer or someone important to them is dead.

’At least it isn’t All-Might’s Lucario,’ Inko thinks, imagining what some of her co-workers mutter whenever a Pokemon went feral, but could this really be any better?

Inko slowly stands-a growl forces her back onto her heels.

“Toshi? Hey, it’s ok. It’s just me. Inko.” She slowly reaches for him but snatches her arm back in time to avoid a Night Slash that shreds through her blankets. 

He snarls, and despite the aggressive sound Inko can see the fear on his face. 

Trying to reach for him again, Inko stops once he starts growling, then starts reaching again once he’s stopped. He’s mumbling something under his breath, but she can’t make it out. 

Just a bit more, and she can pet him. 

Her fingertips just barely brush his paw when he stumbles back, and in a flash of red and black, Toshi transforms into a Pokemon she’s only ever seen in blurry photos and paintings where the artist took one too many liberties.

“Arceus,” she whispers.

The lamp at her bedside explodes, and she screams as a glass fragment pierces her leg. 

“Mom!” sounds from outside. 

“Izuku no!” 

But it’s too late, her son barrels into the room and then they’re both flung back by a weak psychic attack. The Arceus- Toshi, is huddled as far into the corner as he can get, trying to make his enormous size as small as possible as he growls warnings.

Dazed, Inko can only watch as Toshi gathers dark energy. But then Izuku is there, throwing himself at Toshi and wrapping his arms around this fake god.

“Stop,” Izuku says, and the dark energy sputters out as Arceus-Zorua-Toshi shudders. “Toshinori,” Izuku murmurs, and maybe it’s the way that he says it or the fact that his arms are glowing green, but suddenly Toshi is back to being a Zorua and Izuku rocks him. “Shh, it’s ok. We’re ok,” Izuku says. 

“No, no. Gran- I can’t, he’s gone. Izuku. He’s- Gran- I don’t- I can’t sense him.” 

“Gran’s ok,” Izuku says with confidence. “He’s at UA.”

Toshi shakes his head, and oh dear, those are tears. “I can’t sense him. He’s not there.” 

“He is, I can see him,” Izuku reasserts himself. “His aura is muffled, but he’s there. I think he’s still in that Dark Ball, remember?”

Toshi starts shaking his head but then pauses and nods slowly. “O-oh.”

“Feeling better?” Izuku asks after a while, loosening his hold around Toshi, giving the Zorua the chance to climb out of the embrace but still holding him if he needs the comfort. The action fills Inko with pride. Those two would make a formidable team one day. 

“I’m sorry about your bed and lamp, Inko,” Toshi says, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’ll pay for the damages and the hospital bill for your leg. I’m really sorr-“ 

“Hey, it’s alright. I should have known better. I’m the professional after all and this is just a tiny cut, don’t worry about it.” 

“Even so, I freaked out for no reason.” 

“If I couldn’t see Gran’s Aura, I think I’d freak out too,” Izuku says. “It happens to the best of us.” He loosens his grip again, making it obvious that he’s about to get up, but when Toshi still doesn’t leave his grasp, Izuku stands up with Toshi still in his arms. His shock is written all over Izuku’s face and the two Midoriya’s share a look.

* * *

Toshi doesn’t leave Izuku’s arms until they reach UA, and when he does, he seems even more lost.

“I still can’t sense him,” Toshi admits, and Izuku is shocked that even this close the Zorua can’t find Gran. 

“I know where he’s at,” Izuku says, leading the way and it feels so wrong when it’s Toshi who’s following Izuku and not the other way around.

Izuku leads them through the school and into the building for support students. “I think he’s in here,” Izuku says, finally coming to a stop by a door and pushing it open. Inside one half of the room is piled with junk while the other half has state of the art machines being operated by Nezu and a girl that looks to be the same age as Izuku. 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, Toshinori,” Nezu says.

“Have you figured out how to open it?” Toshi asks, shocking Izuku that he spoke at all since there’s another human there and drawing a gasp from the girl. 

“You can speak too? Are you using a collar that transmits the-“ 

“He isn’t,” Nezu interrupts. “And we have Toshinori-“

“Then-“ 

“-But it’ll take time for us to open it,” Nezu continues. 

A small spark runs along a machine before Nighteye, the Rotom, appears, not even batting an eye. “Basically we need a specific frequency to open it. We’ve already tried some of the smaller frequencies, and we’re continuing to run them, but the longer the frequency is, the longer it could take.” 

“How long?” 

“Five days if we’re lucky…” 

“And if we aren’t?” Izuku asks when it doesn’t look like Toshi will.

“Two centuries, but that’s only if we crack it here,” Nighteye says. “If you find out where this ball was made, you should be able to find the frequency.” 

“Do I take the ball with me?” Toshi asks and Izuku noticed how Nighteye and Nezu shared a look.

“… You could, if you had a Rotom-dex,” Nighteye eventually said.

“The goal here is to crack the code as soon as possible, right?” Hatsume says. “With a Rotom-dex, we’d be able to continue running frequencies in the virtual world, but without one, this is the next best thing,” she thumped a hand against the large machine. “If our buddy Nighteye doesn’t mind, we could go full steam ahead.”

“I don’t have a Pokedex,” Toshi states. 

“You’re a Pokemon,” Hatsume says, dumbfounded while Nighteye grumbles, “you always did break technology.” 

“Nighteye, would you be ok with inhabiting my Pokedex?” Izuku asks. 

“Oh, someone has manners,” the Rotom says and then poshly adds. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“Great. So you, me, and Toshinori will be a team and look for this manufacturer,” Izuku states. 

“No. Absolutely not. It’ll be dangerous,” Toshinori growls. 

“And you won’t be? There will be Dark Balls that could capture you, but not me. If anything goes wrong, you’ll need me there.” Izuku says easily. 

“I think that’s an excellent point,” Nezu says. 

“…You need to ask your mother,” Toshi grumbles, relenting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys and Gals.... SO I GOT FANART. AGAIN! And for the past weekI've felt like it's the day before Christmas, or like it's the day after Christmas and I wake up and go, "oh, look at this new shiny stuff I got!"
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> So this chapter is for Eagle50! 
> 
> Er, I also need help again. I'm drawing blanks each time I try coming up with what Pokemon the villains should get. Suggestions?


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